The image of the facial reconstruction of Arno Schmitz whose body was found in Connemara in December 2006.
A TRALEE-BASED forensic dentist was instrumental in the identification of a man whose body was found in woods in Connemara in 2006, according to a report in today’s Irish Times.
Paul V. Keogh of Kerry Oral Surgery Practice at the Bon Secours in Tralee, used dental records from Germany to match those with the body found in woods by Lough Inagh on December 8, 2006.
The man was identified as Arno Schmitz (55), from the Neumünster area of Germany, who had come to Ireland in September 2005. The post mortem at the time concluded that there was no evidence of trauma or injury.
He had never been reported missing and had no identification on his person when found.
His small rucksack contained a Tropicana pink grapefruit juice carton and a spectacle case with Rayban sunglasses and a cleaning cloth, bearing the “Mückenheim-Optik” and an address at Neumünster, Germany, but enquiries made by gardai and interpol yielded no information.
Despite intensive investigations over the years, it was only when the emphasis was put on the juice carton that gardai made a breakthrough.
It was dated November 3, 2005, and giving a week from manufacture to distribution, this meant that the fruit juice could only have been on sale in retail outlets sometime after November 10, 2005.
In April 2014, gardaí asked Interpol to circulate a press release to German media and in July media in the city of Kiel carried reports and an image of a facial reconstruction of the man.
A man came forward saying it resembled that of his brother. He was Bernd Schmitz who told German police that his brother Arno had gone to Ireland in late September 2005 and he had last spoken with him before Christmas of that year. He had not reported him missing.
Dental records were provided and forwarded to Kerry-based forensic dentist Paul V Keogh who confirmed to gardaí the records matched the dental profile taken from the body.
DNA profiles also “strongly supported” the probability that Arno and Bernd were brothers. Earlier this week, German authorities informed Bernd Schmitz of this fact.
Mr Schmitz is expected to travel to Ireland next month to visit his brother’s grave on Omey island in North Connemara.
