Police in Bucks County make breakthrough in 20-year-old cold case

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Police in Bucks County announced on Monday that officials made a breakthrough in a 20-year-old cold case.

Back in October of 2003, a man's body was discovered on the banks of the Delaware River in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania.

The man had no identification and didn't match the description of any missing persons in the area, investigators say.

An autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was drowning.

Partial fingerprints were obtained at the scene, but police found no known matches in the national database.

The unidentified man was eventually buried in the Doylestown Cemetary, while attempts to verify him went on for the next 19 years.

In December 2022, Bensalem police obtained hair samples from the Bucks County Coroner's Office that were collected during the initial autopsy.

Those hair samples were sent to a private laboratory, where a DNA profile was made, police say.

That's when a nonprofit agency, Cold Case Initiative, got involved in the case.

Cold Case Initiative helped fund an investigative genetic genealogy search of public DNA databases.

That search led investigators to speak with Edward Nece from Riverside, New Jersey.

In October of 2023, Nece told police that his son, Edward Anthony Nece, hadn't been heard from in 20 years.

Nece provided a DNA sample that was compared to the unidentified male, which confirmed the drowning victim was Nece's son.

The coroner found no signs of trauma, and the cause of death was ruled a drowning.

Police Director McVey and Det. Chris McMullen both say, at the very least, they were able to give the family a little peace of mind.

"This is the type of case that we don't forget," McVey said. "It's someone's son and brother. So, we always want to do anything we can to bring that closure to them."

"We'll take a case from anywhere, but obviously, this one was near and dear to me," said McMullen.