Reconstructions of Brad (left) and Adam
Real Names: Unknown
Nicknames: "Adam" and "Brad"
Location: Newton County, Indiana
Date: October 18, 1983
Bio[]
Date of Birth: 1965-1968 (Adam); 1960-1966 (Brad)
Height: 5'8"-6'2" (Adam); 5'2"-5'11" (Brad)
Weight: 140 to 160 pounds (Adam); 160 pounds (Brad)
Characteristics: African-American male (Adam); Caucasian male (Brad)
Case[]
Details: On October 18, 1983, a couple mushroom hunting on a remote farmland in Newton County, Indiana discovered the bodies of four young men in a shallow grave. The victims, three Caucasians and one African American, had been brutally murdered. Two of the men were soon identified as Michael Bauer and John Bartlett. However, the other two were never identified. The murders were later connected to serial killer Larry Eyler, who confessed to a total of 23 murders. He remembered some details about the victims, but the details did not lead to an identification. Eyler later died in prison in 1994.
In 2008, newly elected Newton County Coroner Scott McCord was cleaning out his future office space when he discovered two skeletons packed in bankers' boxes. The skeletons were determined to belong to the unidentified victims in 1983. McCord is now determined to identify the victims, who he calls "Adam" and "Brad".
Suspects: Larry Eyler
Extra Notes: The case was first released on the April 28, 2021 episode of the Unsolved Mysteries Podcast.
Results: Solved. The DNA Doe Project began looking for the victims' identities in 2021. In April, the victim known as "Brad" was identified as nineteen-year-old John Ingram Brandenburg Jr. "Adam" was identified as sixteen-year-old Keith Lavell Bibbs in July 2023.
Links:
- Newton County Does on Unsolved.com
- Newton County John Does on Wikipedia
- Brad on the Doe Network
- Adam and Brad on Unidentified Wikia
- Indiana coroners press to identify 3 young men slain by 1980s Chicago serial killer - October 12, 2010
- Efforts under way to ID two unidentified victims of Eyler - February 6, 2012
- Four victims of a serial killer found together, two remain unidentified December 9, 2014
- Indiana serial killer's victims still unknown long after his death - September 29, 2015
- Funeral services held for 3 unidentified homicide victims - October 22, 2016
- Brad Doe Newton Co 1983 - March 12, 2021
- Remains found on northwestern Indiana farm in 1983 ID'd as victim of late serial killer - April 26, 2021
- Victim of late serial killer Larry Eyler identified nearly 40 years after disappearing - July 24, 2023
- Adam Doe on Find a Grave
- Websleuths Discussion of Adam Doe