[StBernard] Orleans Parish Coroner identifies body of man found in St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

Orleans Parish Coroner identifies body of man found in St. Bernard

The Orleans Parish Coroner identified the body found in St. Bernard Parish
on Tuesday as that of 55-year-old Jeffrey W. Bonck Sr., reported missing
since August 2012. (Photo by NOPD)
 By Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on February 28, 2013 at 11:38 AM, updated February 28, 2013 at 12:15 PM
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The Orleans Parish Coroner has identified the man whose decomposed body was
found in St. Bernard Parish on Tuesday. John Gagliano, chief investigator
for the coroner's office, said the body found was that of 55-year-old
Jeffrey W. Bonck Sr., who had been reported missing by the New Orleans
Police Department in August 2012.

Gagliano said that Bonck had been beaten to death and that the case has been
ruled a homicide and turned over to the NOPD.

Bonck's body was uncovered in eastern St. Bernard Parish on Tuesday about 3
p.m. after an associate of Bonck's came forward and told the NOPD where he
had been buried.

St. Bernard Parish government workers, with the help of the NOPD and LSU's
Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services -- the FACES
laboratory -- dug a hole around the suspected grave site. 

The team spent most of the evening excavating Bonck's body before turning it
over to the Orleans Parish Coroner's office, according to authorities.

Bonck's body was buried several feet below ground, off Florissant Highway, a
thin road that weaves down to Shell Beach.

Bonck was first reported missing on Aug. 14, 2012, when his brother
contacted police to say that the last he had heard from him was in the form
of a  voicemail that Bonck had left on his machine about 3 a.m. on Aug. 11. 

Bonck's brother told police that he checked his house in the 7500 block of
Michigan Street later that day but couldn't find him and grew concerned
because the mysterious disappearance was uncharacteristic of his brother.  

No arrests have been made and police have not yet identified any suspects or
motives in the murder.