The Murder of Atcel Olmedo (AKA the DuPage Johnny Doe)
In October of 2005, the body of a young boy was discovered alongside Interstate 88 in an unincorporated area between the cities of Naperville and Warrenville, Illinois. The body was found wrapped in a blue laundry bag, fully dressed in a blue button down shirt and matching pants. Unfortunately, the body was so decomposed that it could not be identified. From the corpse’s rate of decomposition, it was concluded that the boy had been dead for anywhere from several weeks to an entire year.
During the medical examiner’s evaluation of the body, he determined that the young boy was either Hispanic, Native American, or Asian. The boy was between three and five years old when he was killed, and likely had black hair. The boy’s eye color and cause of death could not be determined.
The young boy was nicknamed “The DuPage Johnny Doe,” and was buried in a donated plot in October of 2007. His epitaph read; “Son, Unknown, but not forgotten.” A teddy bear and a blanket were also left at the boy’s grave.
For many years, the DuPage Johnny Doe remained unidentified. In fact, he was one of at least 12 missing boys of similar age and race in Illinois at the time. NCMEC was involved in his case, but was unable to make much progress.
The DuPage Johnny Doe was finally identified as Atcel Olmedo in 2008, due to an ongoing child abuse investigation that the state police ended up linking to him. This was entirely due to an older sibling of Atcel who asked police if they could look into what happened to her brother, who had been missing for several years. This older sibling told police that her stepfather’s mother revealed to her in 2008 that her brother, Atcel, had been killed a month prior to his third birthday. She claimed his death was a result of the abuse he suffered from both his mother and his stepfather.
His identity was confirmed when Atcel was positively identified through DNA comparison. Reportedly, the image circulated by NCMEC was the most accurate depiction of Atcel, but no real photos of him have been released to the public. The rest of the Olmedo siblings were informed of Atcel’s whereabouts in February of 2011, and the next day they went to visit Atcel’s unmarked grave. Eventually, the name “Atcel Olmedo” was added to his headstone.
As far as police know, Atcel Olmedo was born in November of 2002 in Mexico. Both his mother and stepfather went to the United States in 2003, and sometime between 2004 and early 2005 they sent for Atcel to join them in the US. Atcel’s mother and stepfather returned to Mexico in late 2005 without Atcel, and his siblings were told that he had gone to live with his biological father somewhere else in Mexico. The rest of the family came to the US illegally in 2006, settling in Cicero, Illinois. Whenever Atcel or his absence was mentioned, the siblings reported that they were beaten.
Atcel’s mother and stepfather have never been found, and police believe they may have fled back to Mexico. As of right now, Atcel’s case is still open and ongoing. There is an $11,000 reward for any information leading to Atcel’s killers, and DuPage County is currently working to locate Atcel’s birth certificate with the help of Mexican authorities.
There is still no justice for Atcel Olmedo, the “DuPage Johnny Doe.” However, his memory is preserved by his siblings and all who hear his story. Rest in peace, Atcel Olmedo.
