20 Why Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick chose her words very carefully.
‘More recently, links were also found to the grandparents of the man that Jo Thomson eventually married.’ NYT 22 May 2021 in an article written by Alan Yuhas but seemingly influenced by Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick.
< — Professor Derek Abbott and Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick are well known to each other as both were involved in the initial DNA tests on Rachel Egan’s hair in 2015 and Fitzpatrick is no doubt aware of the push Abbott generated through his FB supporters and fans for funds to cover the $20,000 cost of exhumation.
Abbott has raised a high degree of sympathy with his supporters, many of whom are sadly lacking in knowledge of the case details. In particular the Thomson DNA line from the grandparents of Prosper Thomson through to Jessica Thomson’s granddaughter, Rachel.
So my head is spinning,” Dr. Abbott said. “Does that prove she’s not connected now to the Somerton man? Or does that prove that somehow the Somerton man is related to her assumed grandfather?’ NYT 22 May.
Assumed?
Ancestry chart kindly made available by ByronD .. who is at present filling large sacks with oversized opals prior to returning from the deep mulga and retiring to a multi-level penthouse unit in Surfers Paradise equipped with an infinity pool and jacuzzi.
Legend has it that when BD asked the little lady out on a date, she didn’t expect to be handed a pick and asked to fill a bucket with rocks.
The Somerton Man 
So much spin here. Nauseating. They have obviously already done a run through with Rachel’s dna and so, they know who she’s related to…The wording on all of this is word salad. “Assumed” brings one to think that perhaps Rachel’s paternal side might not have a thing to do with Robin. Roma might have been a busy gal. And still, the carrot on the Jefferson connections hasn’t been clarified. Sounds like good media play and a bit of $$$.
On and on the bullshit rolls.
Not surprising the SA newspapers don’t pick it up the Fitzpatrick DNA find, especially the Adelaide Advertiser and a few news outlets after being used as an advertising medium by DA for so many years, pictures of a melancholy couple sitting on a tombstone – that sort of thing – now it looks like the media is facing the other way.
What’s also grievously noted is the large number of camouflage posts DA put up on his FB site after breaking the NYT Fitzpatrick story before stopping dead on June 1. Nobody over there wants to know.
Don’t forget…DA went on for a couple of years before openly admitting he was married to Rachel. Strange that, huh? And they don’t share anything about how/why she was put up for adoption and who raised her.
Why would anyone else want to be tangled up in this thing? The real irony is that DA put a lot of years into research (with considerable help) and his case put-together on the UoA Primary Source Material site page carries some weight.
So did we.
And don’t you think that in the couple of years that he revealed nothing about her that they hadn’t already done dna tests?
What strikes me is that there may be an undisclosed back-story to Fitzpatrick and Abbott because they worked pretty close together in 2015 on the Rachel’s DNA before that stopped dead, then she left for the USA but it looks like she might have taken something away with her to work on back at home. Maybe DA knew, maybe not.
“More recently, links were also found to the grandparents of the man that Jo Thomson eventually married.” WTF? How about some clarity? Um. No. “We can milk it for a bit”. Fitzpatrick should get a grip and realize that she’s either a professional or she’s a paid-for-hire media personality. Can’t be both. Pick a trade.
Yeah, but he’s (Abbott) stopped and I haven’t. There’s always somewhere else to go in this thing.
He hasn’t stopped. What has he stopped?
Talking.
He’s done that before. When pieces didn’t fit. Same old.
This time the pieces all sit around his dinner table.
Nah.
DNA phasing and a chromosome browser should make it possible to pinpoint where on the Thomson tree Rachel Egan is inheriting Thomson DNA. It’s not that hard and an amateur can do it. I am not normally cynical, but I think they know more information and just not telling us. Professor has kept mum before about some things.
Abbott’s expectations of bing able to call his children the grandkids of TSM have long been foundered and I can only imagine his frustration. Some might think it’s unmannerly to comment on his private life but he’s never been backward about promoting what is now looking like a dead notion. If I had a dollar for every photo taken of him and his wife perched on SM’s grave I could buy a ticket to Disneyland.
IIRC watching an interview of a friend of Jestyn he was clear that she told him Prosper was not Robin’s father. Why would she lie about something that could be embarrassing? On the other hand he could have just been saying that after all it is just hearsay.
Who was the friend?
George O’Leary
Never heard of him, can you grab the link ?
22:30 mark
Thanks …
Greg O’Leary not George – that was Prosper’s nickname. Mea culpa.
Well, if young Robin didn’t spring from George’s loins, though his daughter inherited Thomson DNA, then we might wonder what other Thomson was involved with either Jessica or Roma ….
The professor is quite public about his interest and Rachel Egan clearly consents to the publicity. So, it is not altogether untoward to comment on their private life IMHO.
More thoughts on this… and getting a bit technical with the DNA stuff.
You cannot tell just between two descendants which autosomal DNA belongs to which ancestor. In order to phase DNA you need the complete profile of one parent. BUT, women inherit two X chromosomes, one whole from the mother and a second that is recombined from the mother and father. So, it might just be possible to phase the X chromosomes between Rachel and her aunt Kate to see if they share X chromosome DNA from Prosper Thompson.
It may be that Fitzpatrick has done this and the professor just isn’t coming clean with the revelation.
Abbott and Fitzpatrick once worked hand in glove with the DNA project, now they don’t. Maybe she upset the applecart earlier with her findings and signed off without notice.
Juicy. Now all there is to do is wait for FSSA to come public with their findings. Can we get a TSM DNA profile or not? And what has come of it? Has anyone emailed them recently?
Also I will add you CAN tell statistically whether an aunt is a full aunt or half-aunt based on the total amount of shared DNA.
How long have you been chasing this ghost, Matt?
A long time, but it has been years since I had a fresh look, and that was before my own DNA adventure. All leads seemed dead so there was nothing else to do. Now we have a lot more information and a bigger community than existed ever before. Perchance I saw an article about the Dyatlov Pass mystery and though I’d check into whether there was any TSM news.
Not such a big community here,Matt, just a couple of us, but we know how to go.
Alrighty. Well count me in. I might take a crack at Ancestry. I have a rather rare name if you look for my profile. Then again it makes sense to wait for the FSSA results … One day we will all wake up to the news we have all been waiting for all these long years. I am feeling it.
I fully agree with what Matthew has said regarding checking full or half siblings etc. Straightforward stuff.
Someone isn’t stepping up, methinks.