Man’s foot was found in a bucket 3 years ago. Louisiana cops now know who it belongs to
It was July 2016 when St. Tammany Parish deputies pulled over on Louisiana Highway 90 to a gruesome sight.
A man had been dismembered and left on the side of the road, both arms and one of his legs below the knee severed, according to a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office news release.
Investigators ruled his death a homicide from blunt force trauma, but then came another question: Who was he?
More than six years deep in the cold case, detectives finally have their answer.
The man, whose age and race were indeterminable due to body decomposition years ago, was identified as Kleanthis Konstantinidis, deputies announced on Oct. 7.
“I applaud our investigators who worked this very complicated case and sought out available resources and technology to identify the victim,” Sheriff Randy Smith said in the release.
Konstantinidis’ dismembered body was found in 2016, but one part was missing: the lower half of his leg.
Police happened upon Konstantinidis’ foot unintentionally in Mississippi in 2019 while performing a natural death investigation at the home of Phillip Pointer, who had recently died, according to the release.
The human foot was found in a bucket on Pointer’s property, the release said, and investigators used DNA to match it back to Konstantinidis’ body, who was still unidentified when his foot was recovered.
Biloxi investigators contacted the St. Tammany detectives after realizing the DNA was a match, giving the case an extra push after years of searching for information on the man, the release said.
“After countless hours of investigation, which included conducting numerous interviews and combing over a large amount evidence, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s detectives, thanks to assistance they received from the LSU FACES Lab, the non-profit DNA Doe Project and the Biloxi Police Department, were able to establish what they believed was a positive identification of their victim,” deputies said.
Deputies made contact with a living relative of Konstantinidis in the northern U.S., which helped confirm the DNA was a match to the body.
Pointer was established as the primary suspect in Konstantinidis’ death, according to the release.
Deputies are continuing the investigation and have not yet determined where the homicide took place, according to the release.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Man’s foot was found in a bucket 3 years ago. Louisiana cops now know who it belongs to."
