Advanced DNA technology and investigative genetic genealogy have finally solved a six decade old mystery involving a Ventura County teenager. Ronald Joe Cole, who was 19 years old when he vanished from Fillmore in May 1965, has been identified as the homicide victim previously known only as Geneseo John Doe. His remains were discovered in 1966 in a rural Illinois creek, thousands of miles away from his home in California.
A Cold Case Murder and a Prime Suspect
The identification has brought a grim clarity to a case that had gone cold since the mid sixties. In October 1966, a postman found a human skull near Cat Creek southeast of Geneseo, Illinois. A forensic examination by the FBI at the time revealed a bullet hole at the base of the skull, confirming the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head. Despite an extensive search of the area and the recovery of additional skeletal remains, the identity of the victim remained a mystery for 59 years.
The investigation into Cole's disappearance has long centered on his own family. At the time he went missing, Cole was living in Fillmore with his half brother, David LaFever. In 1983, while being questioned on unrelated child abuse charges, LaFever reportedly confessed to family members that he had killed Cole. LaFever was also a prime suspect in the 1977 disappearance of his brother in law, Jon Skaggs, whose body was discovered in a shallow grave in 1984. Although LaFever was identified by investigators as the lead suspect in both murders, he was never formally charged before his own death in October 2024.
Using Genetic Genealogy to Find Closure
The breakthrough came in 2024 when the Henry County Sheriff’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project. By uploading a DNA profile from the remains to public databases like GEDmatch, forensic experts located second and third cousins in Kentucky and Tennessee. These familial links eventually led investigators back to the Cole family in Indiana and California, allowing them to confirm that the remains were indeed those of the missing Fillmore teen.
While the primary suspect is no longer alive to face trial, the identification provides long awaited closure for Cole's surviving relatives. Arlon Gradert, whose family still owns the farm where the remains were discovered in 1966, expressed relief that the mystery has finally been put to rest. The Henry County Sheriff's Office stated that the investigation remains active as they attempt to piece together the exact timeline of how Cole was transported from California to the Illinois creek bed where he was left.