MISTAKEN IDENTITY?

John Dillinger’s Family Wants to Dig Up His Grave Over Doubts He Was Buried There

Two people claiming Dillinger as their uncle say the man shot and killed in 1934 outside the Biograph Theater may not have been Dillinger.

The family of John Dillinger wants to dig up his grave because they think there’s a chance it isn’t him in the casket. The infamous 1930s bank robber supposedly died more than 85 years ago, but court documents now say the family believes the man shot outside a theater in 1934 may not have been Dillinger, The Chicago Tribune reports. Mike Thompson and Carol Thompson Griffith, who claim Dillinger as their uncle, say evidence shows the deceased man did not have the same eye color, fingerprints, or teeth as Dillinger. “It is my belief and opinion that it is critical to learn whether Dillinger lived beyond his reported date of death of July 22, 1934,” according to the affidavits. “If he was not killed on that date, I am interested in discovering what happened to him, where he lived, whether he had children, and whether any such children or grandchildren are living today.” An FBI-Chicago spokesperson confirmed to the Tribune that the case has not changed and Dillinger did in fact die in 1934 after being shot outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago. His body is set to be exhumed from an Indianapolis cemetery in September.