On December 1, 1948 a body was found alongside the Somerton Beach in Australia. At first the case received very little media attention. Police assumed it was a straightforward death on the beach. They thought they just had to identify the body and then it would be over. Boy were they wrong. As weeks turned into months, it soon became clear it was anything but straightforward. The further you dug into it, the deeper it went.
The Somerton Man became one of Australia’s most baffling mysteries
An unknown man would become known as the Somerton Man. It would become one of Australia’s most baffling cases. There are many theories and wild speculation. Moreover, plenty of information available to fuel those theories and speculations.
When the Somerton Man was found, he had no identification on him. The labels from his clothes were removed. In his pocket was a crumpled up piece of papers with the words “Tamam Shud,” which is persian and translates to end or finished. It was eventually linked to a poetry book that contained a secret code and two phone numbers. One to a local bank and another to a woman. Like many unsolved cases, there’s more questions than answers.
Moreover, the Somerton Man arrived at the Adelaide Train Station on November 30, 1948. He checked his suitcase at the cloak room at 11am. The only train arriving from a big city was from Norbin. He bought a one-way ticket to Hinley. From the of checking suitcase, only 2 departures 10:15am and 11:51am. Moreover, the man didn’t get on either train. The unused ticket was found in his pocket. Instead of boarding the train he went across the street and bought a bus ticket to Glade at 11:15am. He arrived at a spot which was 15 minutes away from where he was found. He jumped onto a bus at Glenn Oak at lunch time. The Somerton Man was then not seen until 7:15 pm.
Somerton Man was alive at 7:15pm
A business man going for a walk at 7:15pm, spotted the Somerton Man alive. He assumed it was a drunk and sleeping it off. At 8pm a young couple went for a walk at dusk and sat down on a bench right next to a staircase leading to where the Somerton man was lying down. The young couple looked down and saw the legs of the Somerton Man, but the rest was blocked by stairs.
On Dec 1 at 6am, two jockeys rode past Somerton Man and also assumed it was a drunk sleeping it off. They rode back and realized the man had not moved. The Somerton Man was dead. At this time one witness was back at the beach and the commotion caught his eye and recognized the Somerton Man. He rushed over and called police.
A police officer arrived and examined the scene. He discovered a half-smoked cigarette on the man’s belly. The sand around him had not been disturbed and no signs of violence. They took the body to the hospital and the time of death was no earlier than 2am.
Somerton Man was a well built man
He was well built and didn’t work in manual labor and his hands were enormous. He had unusually well developed calf muscles. Coroner thought he might be a pro ballet dancer. He was a 45-year-old Caucasian. His spleen was 3x normal size, meaning he could have some kind of disease.
Police didn’t treat it as suspicious death early on. They were convinced someone would come forward and identify the body. As the body began to deteriorate they decided to ebalm it. Investigators finally moved away from natural earth to unnatural death. There was no sign of disease that would make heart stop.
Doctors thought it was poison. The Somerton Man’s stomach was full of congealed blood which happens when poisoned. No proof of poison was the cause of death. Police were now working to determine if it was suicide or murder. Detectives were finally assigned to the case.
The man’s clothing tags were removed. They found his suitcase at the station but nothing stood out. The luggage receipt was missing. Where was the receipt? Was it lost or stolen? Tags from clothes in suitcase were removed except for 3 items, laundry bag, tie, singlets. The name on them were T. Keane, Kean and Keane.
No identification started to concern investigators. His fingerprints and photos were sent all over the world. But that didn’t lead to anything. They went to work on the name Keane, but no luck there either. It was common to buy second hand clothing, so the name might not actually be the Somerton Man’s actual name.
Someone may have broken into the Somerton Man luggage
When they found suitcase it was unlocked. Possibly after Somerton Man died, someone took the receipt and broke into the luggage. This all happened before CCTV, so easier to slip in and break into suitcase and then put it back. Police checked in on the clothes. Jacket was made in the US and the tie was made in USA.
As the investigators dragged on, the body of the Somerton Man began to deteriorate more from the ebalming. So the decision was made to make a plastic cast of the head and upper torso of the man. He was then buried. The crumpled paper in the man’s pocket said Tamam Shud meaning ended or finished. It was from a famous poem translated by Ed Fitzgerald.
The original book was found after the inquest. The inquest was held for two days, June 17 and 21, 1949. The coroner ruled the death was not accidental. He noticed how clean the man’s shoes were. The coroner believed the man was not a vagrant. Still thought it was poison. The media finally took an interest and the mystery captivated the public.
Police were left with an unbreakable code
On July 22, 1949 A man with the exact copy of the poetry book with a missing page came forward. He found it on the backside of his car. He was not sure how it got there. His car was parked near where the Somerton Man was found. The paper was 100% linked to the missing page in the book. That man remains anonymous.
This copy of the book is very rare. In the back of the book was 4 lines of letters or a code. The code was released to the public and many attempted to break it. It drove many to go mad. The code bamboozled cops. They believe the case involved spying.
Jessica Thompson denied knowing the man
Moreover, in the book were two phone numbers. First was to a local bank. Second went to a local Jessica Thompson. She lived at Somerton Beach near where the body was found. It’s starting to look like the man didn’t pick the beach randomly.
On July 26, – 7 months after the death of the Somerton Man, police questioned Jessica. They asked her about the Somerton Man. Police found she owned a copy of the poetry book but gave it away. They took Jessica to look at the cast of the Somerton Man. She showed signs she knew the man but denied knowing him to the police. Jessica requested to remain anonymous, which they allowed and we are finally learning her name after all these years.
Moreover, in 1945, Jessica lived in Sydney and spent time at Clifton Gardens Hotel, which was often frequented by military servicemen. There she was introduced to Boxall. They shared a few drinks. Jessica gave him the poetry book as a parting gift when he left for war.
Moreover, Jessica eventually left Sydney when she was pregnant with Robin. They didn’t know who the father was. Some believe the Somerton Man was the father. It was clear that Jessica knew who the Somerton Man was.
Jessica was described with a dark side and possible Russian spy
A relative of Jessica would eventually go on 60 Minutes and describe her mother as having a dark side and was even a Russian spy. This gave weight to those who believe the spy theory. Jessica once said that the Somerton Man was known to people at a much higher level than State Police.
In 1946, a few 100 kilometers away from Adelaide. Britain and Australia entered into a joint project of nuclear missile and rocket testing. This could be the reason for a Russian spy to be in the area.
As World War II ended, millions ended up immigrating to Austria. It’s possible the Somerton Man was one of them. So, each theory has its pros/cons.
Main – unexplained death.
Love Angle – explains why he’s here but not the cause of death
Spy – explains the Cause of Death and Code, but where does it leave Jessica.
We have to look at one other strange case that occurred 3 years before the Somerton Man. George Marshall was found dead in Sydney. His death was ruled suicide by poison and also owned the same copy of the poetry book. A lady who gave evidence at an inquest was later found dead 13 days later with both of her wrists slit.
