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Sarasota art student helps crack cold case after workshop with forensic artist

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Published  March 24, 2025 6:22pm EDT
Sarasota
FOX 13 News

Skilled artists helping solve cold cases

FOX 13's Kim Kuizon reports.

The Brief

    • In a workshop with a forensic artist, students at Ringling College of Art and Design helped play their part in solving cold cases.
    • Noah Shadowens is one of those students, and actually helped identify a cold case victim through his work during the workshop.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Skilled artists at Ringling College of Art and Design are using their skills to help law enforcement officers from across the country working to solve cold cases. It's the second year a world-renowned forensic artist has worked with the college in a week-long workshop. 

The backstory:

Each face represents someone's loved one, and they've been waiting for the right person to identify them. 

READ: Missing Lakeland man found dead

"They all feel important, but this one kind of felt like a responsibility to this one specifically," said Noah Shadowens, a senior at Sarasota's Ringling College of Art and Design. 

He was given a 3D print of a real skull and details to create a clay approximation, which included a white male between the ages of 30 and 40 and 72 inches tall. 

Students are led by Joe Mullins, a forensic imaging specialist, and FOX 13 followed Shadowens and other participants during last year's workshop. 

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"It’s like a superpower they haven’t realized they have yet," said Mullins. "The whole purpose of the class is to clear the shelves of Medical Examiner’s offices across the U.S. and identify these nameless victims."

Dig deeper:

The skull Shadowens brought to life was found in Fort Myers on August 30, 2024. 

"I’m an artist. I’m not a detective or a cop. This is what I do," he said. 

Just days after the workshop at Ringling College of Art and Design, Shadowens' facial reconstruction along with detective work from the Fort Myers Police Department helped confirm that his John Doe was likely Shane Michael Williams. 

MORE: Florida man forced to strip down to his underwear fights armed kidnapper to escape ‘terrifying ordeal’: HCSO

The family was shown the facial reconstruction and handwritten notes found in his backpack, which they also identified as their brother’s handwriting. 

"I was told that the family saw features on this bust that jumped out at them," said Shadowens. 

Why you should care:

Mullins said this is just one of several thousand cases that could be solved through work like Shadowens. 

"This is one out of thousands of unidentified victims that could benefit from this workshop. It’s a free resource for the ME and law enforcement officers. This is a call to let us help," said Mullins. 

READ: Polk County deputy accused of signing victim’s name in official report: ‘Unethical and criminal’

From fine art to forensic art, Shadowens has been given another outlook on his future and he plans on continuing his work. 

"It’s a success, it is definitely rewarding, but it is a success in tragedy," he said. "I’m so beyond excited they were able to identify him. I just want to keep going and continue to do this type of work, but it will always end up in loss, but answers."

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with Noah Shadowens and Joe Mullins. 

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