CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 30 years after a man's body was found in the woods in Charlotte County, the sheriff's office says they have identified him.
He might have been killed by a convicted serial killer.
The investigation began on Feb. 1, 1994, when the sheriff's office says it got a call from a local construction worker. The caller said they found a body in the woods near Wyandotte Avenue and Tulip Street in the northern part of the county.
Major crimes detectives responded and found a man's decomposing body, a news release said. No identification was on the body and attempts to identify the man were unsuccessful. The cause of death was undetermined.
Because he wasn't able to be identified, at the time he was given the name "John Doe #1," according to the release.
The sheriff's office says two years later, on Apr. 17, 1996, two county workers found human remains in the woods about a half-mile away from where John Doe's body was found.
Detectives say they found body parts that were "obviously dissected and decomposed." During their search, they found another body that had been put under some foam material and left there for about a day.
The man's genitals had been cut off, the release said. Detectives say he had been bound and strangled. He was quickly identified as Richard Montgomery of Punta Gorda.
The body parts belonged to one man, who was later identified as Kenneth Smith of Ft. Myers.
The medical examiner ruled both men had been murdered.
Detectives also say sometime after John Doe's body was found and before Montgomery and Smith were found, two other bodies were found in North Port wooded areas.
The murders became known as the "Hog Trail Murders."
The sheriff's office said during the investigation, detectives identified Daniel Conahan in connection to the killings. He was arrested, tried and convicted for the murder of Richard Montgomery, the agency said.
Conahan was sentenced to death and is currently on death row in Florida State Prison.
Due to the way John Doe was killed, Conahan is suspected of killing him, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies say over the years attempts to identity John Doe #1 failed. Eventually, the cold case team recently decided to use genealogy resources.
In 2013, a tooth was submitted for DNA testing.
In 2020, the cold case team was given a likely family name and potential relatives for John Doe. One brother of the large family, which had 17 siblings, hadn't been seen or heard from since about 1991 or 1992. His name was Gerald (Jerry) Lombard, detectives said.
In 2021, the cold case team says it got DNA samples from a sister, a brother and a son of Jerry Lombard. In June, the agency said the FDLE confirmed the son was a positive match for Jerry Lombard.
Lombard was born in Massachusetts on Aug. 20, 1962, the agency said. Detectives say his family told them he was a bit of a drifter and they were used to him disappearing for long periods of time.
The cold case team says they are still investigating the case. They are asking anyone who knew Gerald Lombard or saw him with Daniel Conahan to contact the team at 941-639-2101.
Detectives say Conahan drove a Blue Mercury Capri and a Grey Plymouth station wagon. Lombard didn't have a car.
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