Remains identified in Del. after forensic reconstruction

Two years after the discovery of human remains near Dover, the body has been positively identified.

The family of Ian Michael Withrow were able to make the positive identification on the body after seeing a facial reconstruction model produced by a forensic artist in Texas earlier this month.

The family who lives in the Felton-area provided details about Withrow’s tattoos and other information that was not made public. 

Withrow’s body was discovered in November 2012 in a wooded area near West Rustic Lane/Crawford Carroll Drive in Dover. Police estimate he was dead for approximately three months before the discovery of remains.

The Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled his death a suicide. 

Due to the advanced state of decomposition, other identification attempts were unsuccessful.

Leslie Willingham, a deputy at the Denton County Sheriff’s Department in Texas, heard about the case in Delaware and reached out to the medical examiner’s office to offer her assistance.

Willingham has extensive experience in forensic art and has assisted federal and state agencies with forensic art cases.

Police provided the man’s hair features as well as photographs of his tattoos. A CT scan of the skull was performed in Wilmington and the information was sent to Willingham, who then created the 3-D reconstruction.