DNA tests prove mystery memory man is Czech
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Published: 11 Apr, 2014 CET.
Updated: Fri 11 Apr 2014 23:22 CET
The young amnesiac found in Norway whose identity was a mystery for almost four months is Czech, Norwegian police said Friday, after DNA tests confirmed the claims of relatives and acquaintances.
Dubbed "John Smith", the man said he was "happy, of course", but repeated his refusal to return to the Czech Republic. "Norwegian police have just received confirmation from Czech police that the comparison of DNA samples from the man in Oslo with amnesia with his presumed parents are finished," the Oslo police said in a statement. "The DNA comparison is positive and confirms the man's identity." "John Smith" was found helpless in the snow near a carwash in Oslo on December 14. He speaks good English with a Slavic accent and understands Czech, Slovak, Polish and Russian. "Smith" said he did not remember who he was or how he ended up in Norway, but that he did not think he travelled there by choice. After almost four months of fruitless searching and only one day after publishing his picture in an appeal for help from the public, the Norwegian police revealed Wednesday that several people in the Czech Republic had identified him. DNA tests were made to confirm the Czech claim and proved the parenthood of a couple residing in the country. Although relieved by the confirmation, the man insisted he was not prepared to return to his country. "I still fear for my life," he told AFP. "Smith" says he believes he was "robbed", "sexually assaulted", "drugged", and then abandoned in Norway, even though he cannot say who his alleged attackers were. "I'm not going to live there until these criminals are caught," he said. The Norwegian police said they would "continue the investigation into whether the man may have been the victim of a crime prior to being found in Oslo".
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Dubbed "John Smith", the man said he was "happy, of course", but repeated his refusal to return to the Czech Republic.
"Norwegian police have just received confirmation from Czech police that the comparison of DNA samples from the man in Oslo with amnesia with his presumed parents are finished," the Oslo police said in a statement. "The DNA comparison is positive and confirms the man's identity."
"John Smith" was found helpless in the snow near a carwash in Oslo on
December 14.
He speaks good English with a Slavic accent and understands Czech, Slovak, Polish and Russian. "Smith" said he did not remember who he was or how he ended up in Norway, but that he did not think he travelled there by choice.
After almost four months of fruitless searching and only one day after publishing his picture in an appeal for help from the public, the Norwegian police revealed Wednesday that several people in the Czech Republic had identified him.
DNA tests were made to confirm the Czech claim and proved the parenthood of a couple residing in the country. Although relieved by the confirmation, the man insisted he was not prepared
to return to his country.
"I still fear for my life," he told AFP. "Smith" says he believes he was "robbed", "sexually assaulted", "drugged", and then abandoned in Norway, even though he cannot say who his alleged
attackers were. "I'm not going to live there until these criminals are caught," he said.
The Norwegian police said they would "continue the investigation into whether the man may have been the victim of a crime prior to being found in Oslo".
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