US 'prepper' asylum seeker identified from DNA on toothbrush, Kerry inquest hears
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An American asylum seeker found dead in the Kerry mountains, having gone missing from his accommodation weeks previously, was ultimately identified by matching DNA found on his razor and toothbrush.
The inquest into the death of Thomas Stofiel, a 44-year-old originally from Oregon in the US, also heard that while he was last seen by his roommate at the Atlas House Direct Provision centre in Tralee on September 25, 2020, he was reported as missing on October 6 of the same year.
Mr Stofiel’s body was discovered on November 14 in a remote area high in the Kerry Mountains near Tonevane, Tralee, by a farmer who was out with his dog checking on sheep.
Coroner Helen Lucey, hearing the inquest at Tralee Courthouse, was told that Mr Stofiel was last seen by his roommate, Imad Choufry, on September 25, with Inspector Gary Carroll reading out a short deposition on his behalf.
A statement read into court on behalf of Joe Fitzgerald, a farmer from Farranfore who was present in court, outlined the circumstances of the discovery of Mr Stofiel’s body on November 14.
Mr Fitzgerald said he had been out checking on his sheep when his sheep dog headed towards a ravine. It was there that he saw the body of a man. He said he did not approach the body and contacted gardaí immediately.
Depositions from Garda Brian English and Garda Nicola Hogan were then read out. Both officers were on patrol when the call was received at 11.40am on November 14 that a body had been discovered. Garda English described the 30-minute walk up the mountain to the scene and outlined the difficulty of the terrain and its inaccessible nature.
Kerry Mountain Rescue were contacted and they recovered the body. A doctor pronounced Mr Stofiel dead at 2.50pm and the body arrived at the mortuary at University Hospital Tralee at 3.30pm the same afternoon.
In her deposition, Garda Hogan said Mr Stofiel had been reported missing on October 6. Garda Hogan said she identified the remains to Sean Lynch at the mortuary at 3.50pm.
The coroner heard that two forms of picture identification were found on the body, as well as €1,220 in cash and a social welfare receipt. Mr Lynch said he identified Mr Stofiel to Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster at 10.45am on November 15.
Sgt Marcus Twomey of Castleisland Garda Station told Ms Lucey that the two identity cards found on the body were matched, through the American Embassy in Dublin, with photos from Mr Stofiel’s passport.
Subsequent DNA analysis was then carried out. A statement by Dr Sibéal Waldron of the Forensic Science Laboratory outlined how visual identification was not possible and, with no close relative available, DNA from a razor and toothbrush belonging to Mr Stofiel was used to ascertain if there was a match with the remains recovered from the mountainside.
The coroner heard that it was 1,000 million times more likely that the match indicated the remains belonged to Mr Stofiel, rather than another, unknown person. Sgt Twomey told the court that subsequently a DNA profile was matched with that of Mr Stofiel’s daughter in the US.
Both the gardaí and the coroner said they had been in contact with members of Mr Stofiel’s family and that they were aware the inquest was taking place.
Later in the afternoon, Dr Bolster gave evidence and said she conducted an autopsy on November 15, the body having been identified to her as the presumed remains of Thomas Stofiel.
Dr Bolster said teeth and hair samples were recovered for DNA purposes and that the remains were badly decomposed. She outlined evidence of ligature marks on Mr Stofiel, on his neck and wrists, consistent with the circumstances of his discovery.
Ms Lucey said Mr Stofiel, late of Atlas House, died some time between September 25 and November 14, 2020, with death due to suicide through suspension by a ligature. Gardaí confirmed there was no suspicion that anyone else was involved.
The coroner extended her sympathies to Mr Stofiel’s daughter and commended all those who assisted in recovery of the body and also praised their “honesty”, remarking that “a substantial sum of money was found” at the scene.
“One does not know very much about his circumstances,” the coroner said. “The course of his life had changed for him. He ended up staying in Atlas House and went to this remote area.”
Ms Lucey and Inspector Carroll also said that media reporting of Mr Stofiel’s case had assisted in tracing Mr Stofiel’s daughter and that this had facilitated a full DNA identification. Garda Carroll said he had conveyed his condolences to Mr Stofiel’s daughter directly.
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Mr Stofiel was the subject of an investigative podcast by the which established that he had arrived in Ireland and sought asylum here, spending a number of months at Atlas House.
In 2017, he had been the subject of an FBI and police manhunt in Oregon after he went missing in the mountains with his young daughter.
Both friends and local US authorities described him as a prepper or survivalist, while a raft of Youtube videos outlined his extreme religious beliefs.
He was fondly remembered by fellow residents of Atlas House and it is understood he was also working in a local restaurant prior to when he went missing.