FBI prints ID victim; reopens murder case

Shasta County Sheriff

Kenneth J. Clennell

A body found at the bottom of a well in Anderson in 1981 was finally identified Nov. 7 as Kenneth J. Clennell, born June 24, 1946.

The California Department of Justice identified the body through the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

On June 1, 1981, David Both, 12, threw a dead chicken down an abandoned well on Shasta Street in Anderson. At the bottom of the well, Both saw a dead body. He fetched his parents, and they confirmed that a dead body was at the bottom of the 20-foot well.

“The well had only a few inches of water at the bottom, so you could make out that there was a body there,” said Anderson Police Chief Dale Webb, who was one of the officers that responded to the call.

APD Officer Glenn Tuschen wore protective clothing and a breathing apparatus as he descended into the well at 4 p.m. to extract the body.

The cause of death was determined to be shock and hemorrhage due to multiple incised wounds of the scalp and skull, possibly from an ax or knife. An autopsy also determined that the body had been in the well between two to six months, and it had decomposed past the point of recognition.

A partial set of fingerprints and a set of dental X-rays were taken. The dental charts were then distributed to state prison hospitals and various health agencies, according to Anderson Police Chief Phil Raner in a 1981 Valley Post article.

The APD has not been able to contact family members of Clennell and has requested public assistance in identifying the victim’s family.

To report information about the case, call APD Detective Regina Collier at 378-6600.