New DNA evidence has helped Ventura County cold case investigators solve part of the four-decade-old mystery of a death. In February of 1981, hikers discovered the partial skeletal remains of a person off Highway 33 north of Ojai.
At the time, investigators were unable to identify the remains. In 2004, an attempt to identify the person using DNA evidence failed. But the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office and Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives recently tried again, using advanced DNA technology.
They were able to connect it to a relative of the man, who was identified as Thomas Aquinas Cooney, from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
They now know that Cooney was 31, a Vietnam War veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star. But the relative hadn’t seen him in decades. Little else is known about Cooney's life or how he died. Detectives hope identifying Cooney may lead to some answers.
