The Tamam Shud Case

Since 1948, the Tamam Shud case has perplexed would-be criminal investigators with a mystery worthy of a high-budget film. On an Australian beach, a man was found. He had his feet crossed and was standing against a wall while wearing a suit. He had let go of a half-smoked cigarette. His demise. He was never given a name, either.

He may have died of heart failure, with possible poisoning as the cause, according to an early examination. In the autopsy, an enlarged liver and spleen were found. He had blood and a pastry in his gut. All of the evidence pointed to poison, but tests turned up nothing. The man had unusually pointed feet, as well as remarkably well-developed calf muscles. He might have made it a habit to wander around in high-heeled shoes, it was thought. Or he performed ballet.

The man was missing his ID. Nothing more than a ticket to the beach where he was discovered, some gum, and a pack of cigarettes. They tracked him down to a bag at a train station, but it contained no proof of his identification. A little pocket was discovered, however, in his pant waist four months after he passed away during a further check. There was a scrap of paper in the pack with the words "tamam shud" written in elegant type. Iranian for "completed." Nothing further.

The phrases came from a poetry book. The precise book was even located by law enforcement. The book's paper had indentations that turned out to be from coded writing. Perhaps the deceased was sending a final message. However, it has never been decrypted, and the man's identity has never been discovered. To ultimately identify the man, investigators have been working on DNA analysis of hair for more than 50 years.