The Somerton Man Case: The Death No One Could Explain

Clues with Morgan Absher and Kaelyn Moore

PAVE Studios

True Crime

4.4 • 945 Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1948, a well-dressed man was found dead on an Australian beach: no ID, no name, and a note in his pocket with the words “Tamam Shud”. For decades, investigators chased theories of spies, secret codes, and poisons, but the case stayed cold. Morgan and Kaelyn unravel the story of the Somerton Man, the mystery that haunted Australia for 75 years, and the shocking modern DNA twist that may have finally revealed his name. John “Tuscon” Doe: https://dnadoeproject.org/case/john-tucson-doe-1998/The DNA Doe Project: https://dnadoeproject.org/ Head over to our Clues YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@CluesPod If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Clues to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Clues is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. 🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to other Crime House Originals including Crime House Daily, Crimes Of…, Killer Minds, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow us on Social YouTube: @CluesPod | @crimehousestudios Instagram: @cluespodcast | @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios X: @crimehousemedia Clues is hosted by Morgan Absher & Kaelyn Moore Instagram: @morgsyabsher | @itskaelynmoore TikTok: @twohottakes | @heartstartspounding Episode Sponsors: Investors, influencers, and millions of fans are joining the Arkay zero-proof revolution and the Warm Molecule is changing the game. With the holiday season and dry January here, there’s no better time to try Arkay Zero Proof. Your favorite cocktails made non-alcoholic - Arkay available at Walmart, Amazon, or at ⁠https://www.arkaybeverages.com⁠. Go to ⁠https://www.HelloFresh.com/clues10fm⁠ to get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a $144.99 value) on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson.
0:05.0	Exciting news, conspiracy theories, cults and crimes is leveling up.
0:10.0	Starting the week of January 12th, you'll be getting two episodes every week.
0:15.0	Wednesdays, we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime.
0:22.7	Every week has a theme.
0:26.7	Tech, bioterror, power, paranoia, you name it.
0:31.3	Follow conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes now on your podcast app,
0:36.8	because you're about to dive deeper, get weirder, and go darker than ever before.
0:57.8	Today we're going to head to Australia to dig into one of the most mysterious cases that we've ever covered, the Somerton man.
1:03.0	In 1948, this unidentified man was found dead on a beach in South Australia.
1:09.6	He was well-dressed, and he had with him a note, but decoding it would prove to be incredibly difficult.
1:10.8	Very difficult.
1:19.2	After more than 75 years of extensive investigation, the case has finally been cracked wide open.
1:42.1	The Somerton man finally has a name. Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Clues, where we sneak past the crime scene tape to explore the key evidence behind some of the most gripping true crime cases.
2:02.6	I'm Kaila Moore. I'm going to be the one diving deeper into the timelines, the backstories, and the court files on these cases. And I'm your internet sleuth, Morgan Abshur. And I'm the one who's diving into the clues and talking about some of the lesser known details and pulling out the threads that just don't add up. At Crime House, we value your support. Follow clues to share your thoughts on social.
2:04.8	For ad-free listening and early access,
2:07.8	subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts.
2:10.5	Let's get into the case and the clues that defined it.
2:16.9	This case had me spiraling.
2:19.1	It's a crazy one.
2:20.8	This is a really, really good mystery.
2:21.9	This is insane.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from PAVE Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of PAVE Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.