The Surprising Reason it Took More Than 50 Years to Identify a 4-year-old Found Dead in Virginia

It’s been over 50 years since an unidentified four-year-old boy’s body was discovered in Virginia. Now, police say they’ve finally cracked the code on his identify and exactly what led to his untimely death.

On June 13, 1972, Fairfax County police began investigating the death of the child after he was found under a bridge in Lorton, Virginia, according to Fairfax County police. An autopsy report confirmed the boy died from blunt force trauma, and his death was ruled a homicide. But although authorities understood the cause of his murder, they struggled to identify him.

“With no immediate leads, a local church group gave the unidentified child the name ‘Charles Lee Charlet’ and arranged for his burial at Coleman Cemetery in Alexandria, Va.,” Fairfax police said Monday (Aug. 4). “The case remained unsolved for over 50 years.” That is until now, thanks to breakthrough technology.

Investigators figured out a way to use DNA from the 4-year-old to track down any remaining family members he has left. His DNA profile was taken from a few millimeters of hair, police said. With that, police were able to track down the boy’s family.

Fairfax police explained that detectives soon contacted a family in Philadelphia, who told officers that one of their deceased relatives, a woman named Vera Bryant, gave birth to a baby boy. The child went missing just weeks after his fourth birthday, ABC News reported.

Police then exhumed Bryant’s body to determine if her DNA matched that of the unidentified boy. Now, Fairfax County police have confirmed the woman to be the mother of the boy, who has been identified as Carl Matthew Bryant.

According to police, Bryant and her then-boyfriend James Hedgepeth are believed to be responsible for Carl’s murder. Unfortunately, both Bryant and Hedgepeth are dead and cannot answer to the allegations against them.

“To see the extent of that boy’s injuries and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here today announcing that at least we’ve identified him,” Fairfax Police detective Melissa Wallace said. “He can have his name, we can get him his name back on his gravestone and the family can have some semblance of closure or resolution.”

Bryant died in 1980. Her boyfriend “was previously convicted of murder and had a violent criminal history” according to police. He is also dead.

Interestingly enough, the tragic case of the Bryant family is not complete. According to PEOPLE, police are on the hunt for James Bryant, Carl’s 6-month-old brother who went missing around the same time in 1972.