Technological Advances Help Identify 1986 Homicide Victim Found in Ida

Monroe County, MI – Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough is announcing the identification of a homicide victim from 1986. Sheriff’s Detectives were alerted by a citizen of possible skeletal remains in a wooded lot in Ida. The citizen directed detectives to the scene where they located partially decomposed human remains. Detectives treated the incident as a homicide and the remains were sent for an autopsy.

The Medical Examiner determined the remains belonged to a white male between the ages of 35 and 45 years old. During the investigation detectives were unable to identify the remains.

In 2017 then Sergeant Jeff Pauli sent samples of the remains for DNA analysis. In 2019, the case was reassigned to then Detective Jeff Hooper…who looked into other ways to identify the victim.

Finally, in the fall of 2021, Detective Hooper was alerted to a possible association with a ‘family reference sample.’ The sample possibly belonged to a sister of the deceased. Detective Hooper met with a family member and learned her brother, Shaun Daniel Brauner of Detroit, was missing since 1986.

Detective Hooper would later learn that Mr. Brauner was believed to have been a victim of a homicide in Wayne County… and that the case was adjudicated in 1990.

In late 2024 his identity was confirmed, and Monroe County Sheriff Goodnough announced that their investigation was closed. Brauner’s remains have been returned to his family for a memorial service.

Below is a statement from the Victim’s Family in the case of Shaun Daniel Brauner:

“Shaun Daniel Brauner was murdered on June 3, 1986, in Detroit. Despite efforts by the Detroit Police and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Shaun’s remains were never recovered, and at the time, prosecutors were hesitant to pursue charges without a body. Five years later, charges were brought, but the case ended in acquittal. With no further leads, the case went cold.

In 2015, the discovery of some remains in Plymouth Township, Michigan, prompted Shaun’s family to explore the possibility that they could be his. They were not, however, working with Detective Charles Rozum and the Plymouth Township Police Department, the family was able to submit a DNA sample to the national registry.

In 2021, the family was notified that the DNA provided a match to remains discovered in October 1986, approximately 40 miles outside of Detroit. Since then, the family has worked closely with Detective Jeffrey Hooper of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe and Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Offices to confirm the identity and reclaim Shaun’s remains.

Recently, Detective Hooper informed the family about new advancements in forensic technology. Thanks to the groundbreaking work of Othram Laboratories, a 100% DNA match was finally confirmed.

The Brauner family wishes to express their deep gratitude to Detective Hooper for his relentless commitment to finding answers, to Detective Rozum for his early involvement, and to the team at Othram Laboratories for their technological expertise.

Shaun was 29 years old at the time of his death—a beloved son, brother, uncle, and fiancé. After 38 years, the family is grateful to finally be able to bring Shaun home, lay him to rest with dignity, and find the closure they have long sought.”