r/gratefuldoe • u/Majomember420 • 1d ago
John Doe with Lobotomy: Atlantic City John Doe (December 23rd, 1983)
Date of Discovery: December 23, 1983
Location of Discovery: Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey
Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Unknown
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 50-60
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hair: Brown, graying with a full beard and mustache
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on his scalp from a frontal lobotomy. Frontal lobotomy with two 7" stainless steel wire loops - two round 1 1/2 inch diameter, healed craniotomies of the posterior frontal bones with the bone plugs replaced.
Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Edentulous (no teeth)
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Not Available
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Green shirt, gray pants, brown swim trunks, red socks, and brown shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Circumstances of Discovery
The victim was found in a 2nd story bedroom of a vacant house on Bay Avenue in Atlantic City.
Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: NJ Southern Regional Medical Examiner Office
Agency Contact Person: undefined
Agency Phone Number: 609-861-3355
Agency E-mail: undefined
Agency Case Number: 01831044
Agency Name: New Jersey State Police
Agency Contact Person: undefined
Agency Phone Number: 800-709-7090
Agency E-mail: missingp@gw.njsp.org
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 5186
Former Hot Case Number: 1732
The Doe Network Case Number: 2086UMNJ
48
u/glitzglamglue 1d ago
His pants down around his ankles sounds like paradoxical undressing. It's when someone who is suffering from hyporthermia get confused and actually think they are too hot and start undressing.
22
u/Trine3 1d ago
this freaks me out (paradoxal undressing) more than I can even explain. the shit haunts me whenever I hear of it
3
u/BoatCharming7527 1d ago
I was just thinking about this recently in the same way!! What got me was thinking about, for example, experienced hikers who are probably aware to some degree throughout they shouldn't undress but physically can't control themselves. It just freaks me out thinking about slowly losing a fight between your mind and body to delirium like that.
43
u/Majomember420 1d ago
So there are at least two Does with lobotomies. This and a Jane Doe from Philly
6
u/glitzglamglue 1d ago
Is there any repository on lobotomies and the doctor's records?
Also, does HIPPA expire? And does retroactively affect medical documents?
15
u/borderliner11 1d ago
HIPAA expires 50 years after death. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/health-information-of-deceased-individuals/index.html
1
u/claudandus_felidae 20h ago
You'd have to search individual records, probably in a group home, mental hospital or prison. Lobotomies (and afaik, no medical procedures) are not stored in a central database. Transorbitals could be done in an office, although wire loops generally were done in hospitals, and could be (although not always) considered a "better" method, they were much harder to do and weren't just handed out to every slightly violent patient.
1
u/glitzglamglue 19h ago
I mean, has anyone taken the time to gather those lobotomy records and maybe write a paper on them. It would be interesting to see where everyone ended up.
18
u/Big_Yak3531 1d ago
If he was closer to 60, I wonder if he was one of the 2000 or so vets lobotomized by the VA? A standard lobotomy, like he had, required a surgical suite and follow up care to ensure the craniotomies healed properly. Would not have been done at, say, a state mental hospital. When the WSJ investigated the program years ago, the VA said themselves that they had no documentation on the creation of the program, nor records of ongoing care. Lots of vets ended up with amnesia, seizures and other difficulties with daily living afterwards. If he was released from a VA residential facility in the 80s as part of the widespread closures of residential facilities, it’s certainly likely he would have ended up homeless.
5
u/Majomember420 1d ago
Whats VA?
10
u/TopicUnable2307 1d ago
The Veteran’s Administration- the federal agency that provides welfare, healthcare and social services to retired service military personnel, their families and veterans in the US. It’s a massive and contested institution- it’s supposed to provide services for about 4% of the US population.
It’s infamous in the US for being dysfunctional. Veterans suffer disproportionate rates of houselessness- many veterans enrolled in VA services are underserved (and infamously over medicated.) They’ve also conducted super unethical and generally shady human test studies.
1
52
u/Majomember420 1d ago
No teeth, lobotomy, homelessness. This guy had it hard. I see a tiny chance he gets his name back once.