Mystery of Joseph Newton Chandler III's true identity to be revealed

[quote] Who is Joseph Newton Chandler III and why did he steal the identity of a 9-year-old boy?

He was The Jackal?

Story was a fizzle.

DNA testing, genealogy and sleuthing helped determine that Joseph Newton Chandler III was actually 76-year-old Robert Ivan Nichols.

Elliott says it's not known why Nichols broke contact with his family in 1965 and appeared 13 years later in Cleveland as Joseph Chandler, working as a draftsman and electrical engineer. Chandler was an 8-year-old boy who died in a 1945 car accident.

The late Ivan Nichols was a Navy veteran during World War II, in which he earned a Purple Heart.

Family members said he burned his uniform after he returned home from the war.

He adds that a records search found no crimes committed by Nichols under either name, and that $82,000 was left to his name at the time of his death - with no listed next of kin.

Co-workers have described him as intelligent and eccentric.

Ivan Nichols' son, Phillip Nichols, who hadn't heard from his dad since 1965, also spoke at the press conference.

'This put to a rest a mystery in our family what happened to him... we're grateful the discoveries have been made,' the son said.

'I'm at peace, and hold no animosity, no anger. I wish it had turned out differently.'

So some guy ran away and started a new life with a new identity. I have to agree — that makes him the zodiac killer.

Whether he was the Zodiac or not is one thing, but this is the only non-depressing thread on DL tonight.

[quote] this is the only non-depressing thread on DL tonight.

As long as you dad didn't abandon you in 1965.

There have been similar cases. I recall one case where a woman left her husband and daughter, assumed a new identity, remarried and had kids with that husband. There was also the Lori Ruff case.

[quote]Chandler once drove from Ohio to Maine to visit an L.L. Bean store, then immediately turned around and returned when he couldn’t find a parking space in the lot.

Makes me kinda like the guy.