Remains of body found in Crossville in 1983 finally identified

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has just identified the remains of a body found in Cumberland County in 1983.

Investigators identified the man, whose remains they found on August 26, 1983, as Kenneth Levall Thompson. He was born on November 4, 1965, TBI said. He was only 18 at the time of his death.

His skeletal remains were found about 25 feet from Sycamore Lane in Crossville, Tennessee, according to the TBI.

This decades-long case is of a man from Detroit, Michigan who went missing.

Authorities said Thompson died from stab wounds, and they declared it a homicide.

In May of 1984, the TBI and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office charged a suspect with murder, even though they had not identified the remains yet. That person pleaded guilty to second degree murder in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence, according to the TBI.

For years, investigators received no matches for Thompson’s DNA. But in December of 2022, agents submitted remains samples to a lab in Texas for DNA testing.

Then, the TBI located potential family members in Michigan. One family member confirmed he had a brother who he had not heard from in four decades.

After testing their DNA, the scientists were able to positively identify the remains as Thompson.

“Investigators hope this development will provide long-awaited answers to Kenneth’s family, who last had contact with him around 1982 or 1983,” the TBI said.

They are now asking anyone with a photo of Thompson during the late 1970s or early 1980s to contact the TBI. Reach them at 1-800-TBI-FIND.