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Joshua Zipperer 12/25/2013; tn: Body found in 2013 fire id'ed
Topic Started: Jun 6 2017, 03:30 PM (38 Views)
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Cold case solved: Body found in 2013 Hungry Fisherman fire identified

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. —
Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston's Cold Case Unit says it has identified the man whose body was found inside the rubble of the old Hungry Fisherman restaurant, which burned to the ground on Christmas Day, 2013.
He's identified as 25-year-old Joshua Zipperer, and his identification closes two cold cases - that of the body found in the fire, and Zipperer's missing persons report.
The former Hungry Fisherman restaurant burned to the ground on Christmas Day, 2013, at 6715 Ringgold Road. Investigators never determined what caused the fire, though they said that the building had long been vacant and was used frequently by homeless people as a shelter.

Viewer Josh VanDusen sent us footage of the flames he captured on video:
During a walkthrough of the burned out building, investigators found human remains. Because of extensive thermal damage, the victim’s race and gender could not be determined on scene.
The autopsy later revealed the victim was a white male, age 30-40, who died of an acute alcohol overdose before the fire. The medical examiner could not determine the victim’s eye or hair color.
The Cold Case Unit says an anthropologist from the University of Tennessee examined the remains and determined the victim had been 5’4”–5’7” in height and concluded the victim’s dental records would be needed for positive identification.
Earlier, on Monday, December 30, 2013, the mother of then 25-year old Joshua Zipperer reported him missing to East Ridge police. She had seen media reports about a body discovered in the debris of the Christmas Day fire and was concerned it might be her son.
The Cold Case Unit says Joshua Zipperer had been living in a homeless camp near the Hungry Fisherman building. He normally kept in frequent contact with his mom, typically calling her several times each day. His mother told police she had last seen her son at the Wendy’s on Ringgold Road around 6:30pm on Christmas Eve and she had not heard from him since.
Joshua Zipperer had a recorded height of 6’1”, well above the 5’4” – 5’7” range the UT anthropologist had given the fire victim. He was also five years younger than the 30-40 year age range the medical examiner gave the fire victim.
In April of this year, HCDA Cold Case Unit Investigator Michael Ray began reviewing the U.S. Department of Justice’s NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) repository for all missing and unidentified persons cases related to Hamilton County and its municipalities.
Acting on a hunch, the HCDA says Investigator Ray began investigating the circumstances of Joshua Zipperer's disappearance and the possibility the fire remains belonged to the missing man.
Inv. Ray tracked down Zipperer’s dental records and gave them to Dr. Heath Blockley, a Chattanooga dentist who provides forensic odontology exams for the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s Office. Dr. Blockley compared Zipperer’s dental records to the dental photos taken during the autopsy and concluded they matched.
Dr. Steven Cogswell, who performed the 2013 autopsy on the fire victim, then reviewed the fire death case and revised the autopsy report.
The HCDA presented the news Joshua's mother had been waiting years to hear this week: that the body was that of her son.
http://newschannel9.com/news/local/cold-ca...fire-identified
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