Authorities have revealed the identity of an Ohio man who killed himself in 2002 leaving behind $82,000 in the bank after years of living under a fake name.
U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott at a news conference Thursday in Cleveland said 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.
Robert Ivan Nichols is pictured left in a 1999 Driver’s ID photo. He is pictured right in a 1978 photo. For years, he had been living under the identity of Joseph Newton Chandler III, an 8-year-old boy who died in a 1945 car accident, authorities announced this week
Elliott says he hopes the public can provide some answers about Nichols’ past.
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.
Elliot said during the press conference there is suspicion about the late Ivan Nichols.
‘Typically, when people are hiding, when people are scared, it’s typically fugitives on the run,’ Elliot said.
‘There’s a reason he went missing and assumed the name of a deceased 8-year-old boy in 1978 and hid for so many years.’
Ivan Nichols’ son, Phillip Nichols, who hadn’t heard from his dad since 1965, also spoke at the press conference.
Some have likened Ivan Nichols’ appearance to the drawings of the serial Zodiac Killer who is responsible for at least five murders in Northern California in the 1960’s and 70’s
‘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.’
Some have likened Ivan Nichols’ appearance to the drawings of the serial Zodiac Killer – who bragged in anonymous letters to police that he allegedly killed 37 people.
At least five people were confirmed dead in the 1960s and 1970s killings that took place in Northern California and San Francisco.
Ivan Nichols also reportedly made electrical devices, according to WKYC 3, which was said to be a hobby of the Zodiac Killer.
‘There’s a reason he never again contacted his family,’ Elliott added.
‘Robert Ivan Nichols never wanted to be found throughout his lifetime and into his death, and someone out there may hold the key as to why.’