Detectives solve mystery of man found dead in Charlotte elevator shaft 35 years ago

Julia Coin
·2 min read
5

When officers found bones at the bottom of an uptown Charlotte hotel elevator in 1988, all they knew was the man had been there “for God knows how long” and probably had a limp.

Now, DNA testing has enabled officers to positively identify the man.

Police used forensic genealogy to identify three victims’ remains found in the last 35 years, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Tuesday. Officers identified human remains found in Steele Creek near the present-day Charlotte Premium Outlets in 2008. Authorities also identified remains found off Interstate 85 in 2021, police said in a news release.

CMPD’s Cold Case Unit is still working to identify at least 8 remains, whose discoveries date back to 1975.

Solved: WWII veteran cold case

The remains found at the bottom of an uptown Charlotte elevator shaft belong to a World War II Veteran from Mooresville, police said.

A construction worker found the bones of veteran Oliver Doc “O.D.” Mundy in what is now the Dunhill Hotel in February 1988, according to police and Observer archives. The Mooresville man, born in 1923, was known to live on Charlotte’s streets, according to police.

On February 9, 1988, human remains were found in an elevator shaft at 237 N. Tryon St., according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
On February 9, 1988, human remains were found in an elevator shaft at 237 N. Tryon St., according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

The building, which had recently been sold to Dunhill Developers, had sat vacant for seven years and was a “favorite shelter” for people experiencing homelessness, according to a 1988 Observer article.

At the time, investigators spent two hours digging through rubble before carrying Mundy’s bones — and intact skull — away in a cardboard box.

Mundy’s body will be returned to his family for final arrangements, according to a CMPD news release.

Missing, then murdered: remains found

Police for 15 years were searching for answers in the suspected cold case murder of a man whose remains were found in the woods in southwest Charlotte in 2008. They still are.

Jose Elder Espinoza, born in 1978, had gone missing at age 25 in 2003, according to his family. A person found his skull on a construction site in the middle of the day and called police, who found other bones nearby, according to a 2008 Observer article.

Police said he was killed, and his murder is still under investigation. Anyone with information can call 704-432-TIPS to speak with a detective in CMPD’s Cold Case Unit.

SC man found dead in Charlotte

About two years ago, police found a man’s remains near a small road running parallel to I-85 in northeast Charlotte. Officers recently identified the victim as Cody Ray Herrell, who was born in 1985. There were no signs of trauma, police said, but it’s unclear when he died. He was originally from South Carolina but was known to live on the streets of Charlotte, police said.