DNA testing identifies man from 1974 cold case, Will County coroner announces

The identity of a man from a 1974 cold case has been determined through forensic DNA testing, Will County Coroner Laurie H. Summers said Wednesday.

The remains have been identified as Donald M. Rozek of Harvey, a possible Army veteran, according to the coroner’s office.

Rozek’s cause of death is undetermined, so Summers and the Will County Sheriff’s cold case investigators are continuing the investigation, according to the coroner’s office.

Rozek’s identification was made following an extensive investigation by the Will County Coroner’s Cold Case Division, the Will County Sheriff’s Office and Othram Inc., according to the coroner’s office. Othram is a private laboratory that uses advanced forensic DNA testing.

Three hunters discovered the skeletal remains Nov. 9, 1974, in a rural area near a creek bed, northeast of Interstate 55 and Route 6, behind McClintock acres subdivision., according to the coroner’s office. The remains were eventually buried, according to the coroner’s office.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office exhumed the remains Dec. 8, 1993, for more analysis but the man’s identity remained unknown, according tto the coroner’s office.

Will County Coroner Patrick K. O’Neil formed a cold case unit in 2009 and continued to work on the case, according to the coroner’s office.

[ Will County Coroner’s Office seeking community’s help with a cold case ]

Over time, forensic anthropology studies were completed and DNA was developed, which was entered into the national missing and unidentified persons databases (NamUs) and CODIS, according to the coroner’s office.

A specialized FBI unit completed facial cranial reconstruction, according to the coroner’s office.

On June 8, 2021, the Will County Coroner’s Office partnered the case with Othram Inc. Othram’s lab developed a DNA profile and submitted it to FamilyTree DNA, according to the coroner’s office.

After FamilyTree’s genealogists narrowed down family leads, cold case investigators interviewed several people from Washington, Hawaii, Georgia and Florida, according to the coroner’s office.

Through additional DNA profiling and genealogy studies, Othram further narrowed the search to one person in Illinois, a possible nephew of the unidentified man, according to the coroner’s office.

After the coroner’s office’s cold case Investigators interviewed the man, they learned he had an uncle who disappeared in 1971 or 1972, according to the coroner’s office.

Subsequent KinSNP testing indicated that the man and the unidentified were uncle and nephew, according to the coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office and the sheriff’s office have several cases pending with Othram. View those cases at DNAsolves.com.