5 chilling particulars about Dakota James’s case

In January 2017, 23-year-old Duquesne College graduate scholar Dakota James vanished after an evening out in downtown Pittsburgh. Surveillance cameras captured his final moments strolling by way of an alley, however 40 days later, his physique was recovered miles away within the Ohio River.

Authorities dominated his demise an unintentional drowning, however his household stays satisfied foul play was concerned. Suspicious marks on his neck, inconsistencies within the post-mortem, and the unexplained situation of his physique have fueled ongoing debate.

Dakota’s case has since change into half of a bigger thriller tied to the controversial “Smiley Face Killers” idea, and it’s coated on Oxygen’s Smiley Face Killers: Hunt for Justice.

Dakota James’s case: 5 particulars explored

1. The disappearance of Dakota James

Dakota James, a 23-year-old graduate scholar at Duquesne College in Pittsburgh, spent the night of January 25, 2017, out ingesting with mates alongside Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. He was final seen at round 11:49 PM that evening in a surveillance footage that captured him strolling alone by way of Katz Plaza within the metropolis’s Cultural District, as per Oxygen.

He entered an alley close to Fort Duquesne Boulevard, and that was the final he was seen. Authorities later theorized that Dakota James crossed the boulevard, descended steps close to the Clemente Bridge, and unintentionally fell into the Allegheny river. Nonetheless, from the start, Dakota’s dad and mom, Jeff and Pamela James, have been skeptical about this idea and believed their son had been kidnapped.

2. Dakota’s physique was recovered

5 days after Dakota disappeared, the police formally accepted the lacking individuals report. Throughout that point, his dad and mom briefly relocated from Maryland to Pittsburgh to arrange searches and lift consciousness. Forty days after his disappearance, on March 6, 2017, Dakota’s physique was found within the Ohio River close to the Interstate 79 bridge over Neville Island, roughly 10 miles from the place he was final seen.

In accordance with CBS, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner dominated his demise an unintentional drowning, citing chilly water shock as a possible trigger. Nonetheless, forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, who later reviewed the findings, famous the physique confirmed little exterior or inner decomposition and virtually no signal of any exterior damage. This raised doubts about whether or not Dakota had drowned six weeks in the past and handed by way of the turbulent waters and dam programs alongside the river.

3. Inconsistencies within the post-mortem report

There have been no scratches on Dakota’s face or palms, which was uncommon for somebody who may need struggled within the water. Investigators additionally famous blood pooled in his fingertips, which Dr. Wecht prompt might be according to making an attempt to take away a ligature from round his neck. Most importantly, pictures from the post-mortem appeared to point out distinct marks on the again of Dakota’s neck.

The proof strongly pointed in the direction of a ligature strangulation. Nonetheless, the medical expert’s workplace maintained that the marks have been dried blood that washed away throughout the post-mortem and weren’t proof of strangulation. This additional deepened doubts about how dried blood may stay after 40 days in a river however then wash off throughout examination.

4. The hyperlink to the Smiley Face Killers Principle

Dakota’s case attracted the eye of retired NYPD detective Kevin Gannon and his workforce, who have been investigating a sequence of younger males throughout the nation discovered useless in rivers after nights out. Dubbed the “Smiley Face Killers” attributable to graffiti typically situated close to restoration websites, the speculation means that an organized group medication abducts, and kills their victims earlier than dumping them in waterways.

Gannon believed that Dakota James match the sample of their sufferer as he was a college-aged athletic male who had been recovered from the river below suspicious circumstances.

5. Dakota’s case stays open

Regardless of stress from his household and unbiased investigators, Dakota’s case stays formally categorised as an unintentional drowning. District Legal professional Zappala has acknowledged the case as an open murder file however not an energetic investigation, leaving additional progress depending on new proof or a change within the medical expert’s conclusions.

Furthermore, Dakota James was cremated, making reexamination of his physique inconceivable. For his household and well-wishers, the suspicious marks on Dakota’s neck, the shortage of decomposition, and the situation his physique was present in recommend foul play.

Catch all about Dakota James’s case on Oxygen’s Smiley Face Killers: Hunt for Justice, which re-airs tomorrow, September 17, 2025.