Woman's long-lost son found buried in 'John Doe' grave
The body of Jacob Whitt was found buried since Sept. 22, 1998, in a "John Doe" grave on the outskirts of Dallas.
His body was identified only recently through DNA sampling, according to his mother, Theresa Freitas, who lives near Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort, southeast of Haines City.
"They found him in a wooded area in a sleeping bag, with his work boots and one bullet in his head," Freitas said by telephone Monday, explaining how her son came to be buried without identification. "There was a .44 (caliber) gun lying three feet away from him. He was two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday."
Freitas said a representative of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office in Texas called her June 23 and reported Whitt's DNA match to a DNA swab sample that was taken from her by a Polk County Sheriff's Office detective in October 2008.
"It took a long time for the two (samples) to meet in the system," she said. "DNA is solving a lot of cases. If it weren't for that, we may not know that was my son. That's not the way I wanted, but at least we can bring him home."
Freitas said the Ellis County Sheriff's Office is ruling her son's death a suicide, but she said she does not believe that.
"I'm telling you, my son didn't kill himself, and I'm not a hysterical mother," she said. "There is no way that he walked 30 miles to a wooded area from where he lived, because he didn't have a car, and got in a sleeping bag with his work boots on, and laid on his side and shot himself with a .44.
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