FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) Chief Kevin Davis announced an update in a 1972 cold case murder.

The victim was identified as 4-year-old Carl Matthew Bryant born on May 26, 1968.

On Monday at 1 p.m., FCPD held a news conference to reveal the identity of the child who was found in Massey Creek under the Old Colchester Road Bridge in Lorton in 1972.

His body was found on June 13, 1972, and an autopsy revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head, making his death a homicide. A local church gave the child the name “Charles Lee Charlet” and assisted in his burial at Colman Cemetery.

“I have my own son, and I think most of us are parents here,” said Detective Melissa Wallace, who helped identify the remains. “And to see the extent of that boy’s injuries, and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here announcing today that we’ve at least identified him.”

For more than five decades, the identity of the child was a mystery. However, through police work and advanced DNA technology, law enforcement was able to connect the dots using genetic genealogy.

This testing revealed a possible relative for Carl Bryant, and eventually, the family tree led to Pennsylvania. Teaming up with the Philadelphia Police Department, investigators found a relative who identified the child’s mother as Vera Bryant.

Vera Bryant died in 1980 and had not just one, but two sons: Carl Bryant and James Bryant, according to a family member. James Bryant died in 1980 and was confirmed to have traveled from Philadelphia to Virginia in 1972 — the same year Carl Bryant was found dead.

The mother’s DNA confirmed a match.

Early investigations

In 2003, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created a computer-generated sketch of the child, hoping for additional leads.

When hair evidence was found in 2004 and sent to the FBI, Mitochondrial DNA was extracted and entered into a national database, but again failed to find a match. In 2016, investigators were able to rule out potential leads of two missing children, but weren’t much closer to identifying the John Doe’s body.

Limits on mitochondrial DNA incentivized detectives to seek nuclear DNA testing, but finding the John Doe’s burial site was made challenging due to poor records and storms.

Astrea Forensics, known for their ability to extract hair DNA without the root, was able to extract a profile from a few millimeters of hair, where they would normally require a couple of centimeters.

Family confirmed Vera Bryant had a 4-year-old son who went missing after leaving for Virginia in 1972. Due to the preservation efforts for Vera Bryant’s remains, multiple attempts to confirm the connection failed. However, on July 1, forensics was able to confirm the boy was Carl Bryant.

Cold Case Resolution

Detectives said they believe that Vera Bryant and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth, both now dead, were involved in Carl Bryant’s murder. Her other son, James Bryant, is believed to have also been killed around the same time, his body possibly dumped somewhere between Philadelphia, Pa., and Middlesex County, Va., police said.

Hedgepeth had a violent criminal history and had been previously convicted of murder, police said.