Coroner identifies dead Northshore man after skull found seven years ago

Back in 2017, a human skull turned up in the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in St. Tammany Parish.

The lower jaw bone was missing, and experts were not able to generate a facial recreation.

As technology progressed, last year the Coroner submitted DNA from the skull to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but there were no matches to known missing persons or convicted criminals,"  Spokesman James Hartman said in a news release.

The coroner's office called in a private DNA lab.

"Last month, the Coroner was informed that the private lab had found a genetic match in the western United States, and Cold Case Investigator Chris Knoblauch made contact with the woman."

Hartman says that was the break the medical examiner needed.

"She confirmed that she had an uncle who had lived in Louisiana, but who had not been heard from since 2016. A DNA reference sample she provided confirmed the decedent was her uncle."

The skull belonged to Gary A. Maggio, a military veteran and resident of the Slidell area.  He had never been reported missing

“The cause and manner of death still remain undetermined, as there was no sign of trauma on the skull,” St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Christopher Tape said. “That the skull was the only bit of remains found is not necessarily indicative of criminal wrongdoing - nor even of suicide - as the marsh area is subject to tidal influence. The skull could have been deposited there during a surge, or other remains could have been washed away, or taken away by animal activity. Without further information, we will never know."

Tape says that Maggio can now have a more dignified end.

“He is no longer ‘John Doe,’ he is no longer a bone on a shelf, but is now a life to be celebrated and commemorated.”

Maggio’s niece said that Maggio was an avid outdoorsman and camper.

"So his presence in the wildlife refuge is not suspicious on its face. He was born in 1949, and is believed to have been 67 when he died," according to Hartman.

The coroner is asking anyone with more information to step forward.

“For now, we can give some measure of closure to Mr. Maggio’s survivors, who never knew what became of him,” Tape said. “With fresh public input, we might also glean more information to determine how and under what circumstances he perished.”

People with information about Maggio’s final days or death can call 985-781-1150.