In February 1994, a human body was found in the woods near Wyandotte Avenue and Tulip Street in northern Charlotte County by a local construction worker. The body was given the temporary name John Doe #1. Despite efforts to identify the body, no match was found, and the cause of death remained undetermined. Five years later, on April 17, 1996, two county workers discovered human remains in the area of Trembly Avenue and Willow Drive. Forensic experts and detectives arrived and found body parts and another body that had been placed under foam. This body, which had been there for about a day, showed signs of binding with rope and strangulation. The victim was identified as Richard Montgomery of Punta Gorda. Another decomposed body, found earlier, was later identified as Kenneth Smith of Ft. Myers. The two bodies were approximately half a mile apart. Before these discoveries, two other bodies had been found in North Port's wooded areas, and the scenes were similar in many ways. This led to the formation of an investigative task force involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Daniel O. Conahan was identified as a suspect in these serial killings. Conahan was arrested, tried, and convicted for the murder of Richard Montgomery. He was sentenced to death and is currently on death row in Florida. Although Conahan was not charged for the 1994 John Doe #1 case, he is considered a suspect due to the similarities in the crime scenes. For years, attempts to identify John Doe #1 failed. Recently, the Cold Case Team used genealogy resources to help. In June 2013, a forensic anthropologist submitted a tooth from John Doe #1 to a university for DNA testing. This DNA was then entered into national databases. In 2020, the Cold Case Team reached out to the FBI's Forensic Genetic Genealogy team, who recommended further testing. After DNA sequencing and analysis, the team was able to identify potential relatives. The family of Gerald (Jerry) Lombard, who had not been seen since the early 1990s, was contacted. DNA samples from family members confirmed that John Doe #1 was indeed Gerald Lombard, who was born in Massachusetts in 1962. Authorities are asking anyone who knew Gerald or saw him with Daniel Conahan to come forward. In May 1997, a construction worker found skeletal remains under a tree in Port Charlotte, later identified as William 'Billy' Charles Patten, who had disappeared in 1993. In March 2007, a land surveyor found two human skulls in Fort Myers, leading to the discovery of eight skeletal remains known as the Fort Myers Eight. All eight were ruled homicides, and the victims showed injuries similar to those in the Charlotte County cases. Conahan was named a person of interest in these cases, but he was never charged. Four of the victims were identified, while the other four remain unknown. Conahan was a licensed practical nurse who worked at a hospital in Punta Gorda. He was arrested in 1996 for attacking Stanley Burden, but that charge was later dropped. In 1997, he was charged with the murder of Richard Montgomery. His conviction relied on circumstantial evidence rather than direct DNA proof. He waived his right to a jury trial and was found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in 1999. The death penalty was recommended and carried out in December of that year. Conahan's last appeal was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled that other DNA evidence would not necessarily clear him. The U.S. Supreme Court also denied his final request to halt the execution, allowing it to proceed.