The Cleveland John Doe Case

Ohio. A suicide, no fingerprints, no identity.

In July 2002, the Eastlake police discovered a decomposed body in a modest studio apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. It appeared to be a suicide by firearm. The man was Joseph Newton Chandler III, a retiree whom neighbors and former colleagues described as quiet, secretive, and strange. But as the investigation progressed, less and less about Joseph’s life and identity made sense.

In 2018, thanks to scientific advances in DNA, the man’s true identity was finally discovered: Robert Ivan Nichols. A veteran with a wife and three sons, Nichols eventually left his family, telling his wife “One day you will know why.” A few years later, in 1965, his family reported him missing. By 1978, he had stolen the identity of Joseph Newton Chandler III, who had been killed in a car accident at eight years old. But who was this man and why did he change his name? What secret was he trying to hide?

Thibault Raisse examines the case, exploring the many theories that have emerged, from the craziest to the most credible. Among these theories is a possible connection to the Zodiac Killer, whose murders date back to 1968 and 1969 in California.

50 States of Crime: France’s leading true crime journalists investigate America’s most notorious cases, one for every state in the Union, offering up fresh perspectives on famously storied crimes and reflecting, in the process, a dark national legacy that leads from coast to coast.

Born in Paris, Thibault Raisse was a staff reporter at Le Parisien daily newspaper for nine years. He now works as a freelance journalist for French magazines Society and Elle, with a special interest in unsolved crime stories. He co-authored the bestselling true crime book, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès: l’Enquête, which was published in 2020.

Translated by Laurie Bennett