The Murder of Kleanthis Konstantinidis
The dismembered body of Kleanthis Konstantinidis remained unidentified for six years following its discovery in 2016. A dismembered foot was found in a bucket under a mobile home in 2019, which helped to establish his identity. The mobile home occupant, Phillip Pointer, was the subject of a wellness check by police, who discovered him deceased.
Discovery of a Dismembered Body
On the morning of July 29, 2016, at approximately 7:00 a.m., a heavily decomposed dismembered body, missing both arms and part of a leg, was discovered on the side of Highway 90 in St. Tammany Parish. The site was east of the intersection of Highway 90 and Highway 433.
The medical examiner determined the person was a male, 65+ years-old, 5 feet 10 inches tall. He had an older distinguishing scar on his chest as a result of heart bypass surgery. They determined his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and ruled the death a homicide. Investigators could not learn much more information due to the level of decomposition.
Investigators determined the remains had not been there for very long. There was a lack of blood or any other physical evidence, which told investigators he had been killed in another spot and moved to where he had been discovered. The owner of the property stated that he had been there the night before and the body had not been there. This gave investigators a timeline of between 10:30 p.m. July 28 and 7:00 a.m. July 29 when he was discovered. Investigators also noticed that the ground underneath the remains was not damaged or changed, as is common with this type of crime scene, so this supported their theory that he had been recently placed there. Other evidence alluded to a possible tie to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Area.
The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, in conjunction with The DNA Doe project, was able to put together a DNA profile for the victim. Detectives sent the DNA profile to Parabon NanoLabs hoping they could help in providing further clues to the victim’s identity. They developed a sketch based on physical and DNA characteristics and circulated it across the area and to the media. They were unable to gain any further clues or knowledge; soon the case grew cold. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office held a live press conference. You can find here the video here.
Phillip Pointer
In April 2019, the Biloxi Mississippi Police Department responded to a wellness check on Phillip Pointer. Officers discovered Pointer deceased in his mobile home. The Biloxi medical examiner determined he had died of natural causes. During their investigation of Pointer’s death, Biloxi police officers discovered a severed foot in a bucket underneath Pointer’s mobile home.
DNA analysis that was performed on the foot provided a DNA profile which investigators uploaded into the national databases. Biloxi investigators discovered that the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office had a similar investigation of an unidentified victim that matched their DNA profile, so they reached out to St. Tammany’s Police Department with their discovery.
It wasn’t until DNA Doe Project volunteers began searching for relatives through genealogy websites that a connection was discovered. A possible distant relative readily agreed to take part in a DNA comparison and the victim’s identity was confirmed as Kleanthis Konstantinidis, 72.
The Ongoing Investigation
Investigators stated they consider Phillip Pointer to be the primary suspect in the murder of Kleanthis Konstantinidis. They have explained that they still have a lot of work to do in the case because they do not know where or the specific details surrounding Konstantinidis’s death. Investigators from both the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department and the Biloxi Police Department will continue to work together in this ongoing investigation.