Wednesday, June 28, 2023 – In 2022, Season of Justice funded DNA analysis and FGG research to assist the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office with their efforts to identify a homicide victim found in 1993.
As a result of that DNA testing conducted by Othram Inc., St. Tammany Parish announced today, June 28, 2023, that they’d confirmed the identity of the victim as Mr. Joseph Lee Muniz from Burnsville, MN. Joseph’s remains were discovered in October 1993 near the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, and investigators have spent the last 30 years diligently seeking to give this victim his identity back. As technology advanced, investigators continued to seek answers as to who this victim was to no avail. In 2022 through funding provided by Season of Justice, Othram was able to map the victim’s entire genome, providing more information than previously possible and isolating two potential siblings for investigators to speak with. This ultimately led STPCO to the answer they’d been hoping for, and on June 16th, Joseph Lee Muniz was identified.
“Season of Justice is honored to assist the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office and investigators in their efforts to identify this homicide victim,” said Brad Schleppi, Executive Director, Season of Justice.
Thank you to the St. Tammany Parish Corner’s Office and the team at Othram for their tireless work on this case. We hope this brings some peace to Joseph’s loved ones as they’re finally able to bring him home.