Somerton Man: Twist in on of Australia’s most mysterious cold cases case as bizarre ‘birthday card’ emerges
A bouquet of flowers and a birthday message left behind have reignited speculation about the real identity of a man at the center of one of Australia’s most baffling and enduring mysteries.
The identity of the Somerton Man has been shrouded in mystery since his body was discovered by two trainee jockeys against a wall on the seafront of Somerton Park Beach in Adelaide on December 1, 1948.
The man was dressed to perfection in a sharp double-breasted suit and tie, with his shoes freshly polished.
Strangely, he had an unlit cigarette on his chest, a coded message in his pocket and a book of Persian poems among his belongings.
However, after remaining unclaimed and unidentified for 74 years, an anniversary tribute claims an Austrian spy is the true identity of the Somerton Man.
A bouquet of flowers and a birthday message left on a sculpture of a man on a beach (pictured) claim that Austrian man Carl Josef Halban is the real ‘Somerton Man’
The identity of the Somerton Man has been shrouded in mystery since his body was discovered by two trainee jockeys against a wall on the seafront of Somerton Park Beach in Adelaide on December 1, 1948.
Family and friends of Austrian man Carl Josef Halban left birthday flowers and a message on a seaside sculpture of a man sitting on Somerton Beach.
“Congratulations to the real ‘Somerton Man’, Carl Josef Halban,” the note read.
‘Fashioner, sailor, communist, spy. Our birthday wish for you is that the truth comes out. Austria is calling you home.”
The note was signed: ‘Your loving family, your voice Sophie and your beloved Jestyn.’
Former Adelaide lawyer Sophie Holsman, who spent two years investigating the Somerton Man mystery, left the note on behalf of Mr Halban’s family.
Ms Holsman claims she has proof that the Somerton Man was Mr Halban – a European communist and spy whose cousin worked to build an atomic bomb in Britain.
The mystery man was dressed to perfection in a sharp double-breasted suit and tie, and his shoes were freshly polished
Among the Somerton Man’s possessions were an unlit cigarette on his chest, a coded message (pictured) in his pocket and a book of Persian poems.
The lawyer, who now lives in Canberra, works with Mr Halban’s family in the US and Europe.
“They want the truth to come out,” Ms. Holsman said The advertiser.
‘I have expert evidence supporting him as Somerton Man from internationally renowned document examiners, scientists and Halban’s family.’
Pictured: an artist’s impression of Carl ‘Charles’ Webb, called The Somerton Man
Ms Holsman claims she passed on Mr Halban’s name and her file to South Australian police two years ago.
She argued that investigations in recent years focused on a 43-year-old Melbourne man as the Somerton Man’s real identity was false.
In May 2021, the Somerton Man’s body was exhumed and examined in the hope that new technology will finally provide the answers needed to solve the case.
University of Adelaide researcher Derek Abbott, who is widely regarded as an expert on the puzzling case, claimed the Somerton Man was Carl ‘Charles’ Webb – a 43-year-old electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.
Professor Abbott, together with renowned American genealogist Colleen Fitzpatrick, made the identification in June 2022, after using the hair from a plaster mask from the 1940s to compile a DNA profile.
After building a family tree of about 4,000 people, the couple successfully matched DNA to genetic data uploaded to a genealogy website by members of two separate families.
However, Ms Holsman argued that the Somerton Man could not be Carl Webb because the electrical engineer did not travel internationally.
“Carl Webb cannot be Somerton Man based on previous forensic findings,” Ms Holsman said.
‘Somerton Man must have traveled abroad before arriving in Adelaide due to the high levels of strontium-90 in his hair.
‘In other words, he must have been at nuclear test sites. Carl Webb has never traveled internationally – he can’t be Somerton Man.’
Pall bearers from the Adelaide Cemetery Authority carry the body of the exhumed Somerton Man on May 19, 2021 (photo)
Ms Holsman, who also has a degree in Australian history, added that Mr Webb did not match the photos of the Somerton Man.
She also claimed Mr Halban’s name appeared in photographs of the suitcase found with the Somerton Man.
Ms Holsman said she has received a tip-off about the real identity of the Somerton Man and will explore her investigation into the puzzling mystery in an upcoming TV documentary.
A post-mortem examination of the Somerton Man revealed that he had been poisoned, but he was never identified as no relatives came forward to claim him.
The fact that Somerton Man was never claimed and the manner in which he was found led many to believe he was a Cold War spy, when the tags were ripped off his clothes – a trademark of spy agents.
Others believed wild theories, including that he was murdered by a scorned ex-lover.
Professor Abbott’s research shows that the Somerton Man, who he claims is Mr Webb, was the youngest of six siblings, had German roots and may have been wearing his brother-in-law’s American clothes when he died.
Information about the Webb family was discovered through documents, articles and contact with distant relatives.
His research also sheds light on why the Somerton Man may have been wearing American clothing at the time of his death.
A photo of a football team from 1921 has also been used to help identify the Somerton Man.
In an old family photo album, Charles Webb is seen in the back row of a family photo, playfully placing his hand on the head of a man believed to be his brother-in-law (Charles Webb is circled in red)
In another photo, a young boy marked C. Webb (bottom left) stares sternly into the camera from the front row of the Swinburne Technical College under-16 football team
Records show that a 14-year-old boy named ‘C Webb’ was enrolled at Swinburne Technical College and studied there for two years.
This information led novice online sleuths and researchers to discover the under-16s football image showing the group of boys pictured in 1921.
The list of players in the photo shows that one of them is named ‘C Webb’, but it is unclear which player this is.
Professor Abbott said there was ‘definitive evidence’ that Webb is one of the 21 boys in the photo.