An Indiana Family Still Wants Answers In A Young Man’s Mysterious Death

The family of Joseph Smedley, who was found dead in a lake in 2015, still want answers about a mysterious text message and a backpack full of rocks.

The 2015 death of Joseph Smedley, pictured here, was ruled a suicide despite his family disagreeing with the ruling.

The family of Joseph Smedley, who was found dead in a lake in 2015, still wants answers about a mysterious text message and a backpack full of rocks.

Photo by: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Still A Mystery")

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Still A Mystery")

Enrolling at Indiana University - Bloomington was a fresh start for Joseph Smedley in 2014. The latter part of childhood and his teenage years had been fraught; his parents divorced when he was in third grade and his mother moved to St. Thomas. He tried living with each of his parents but found it difficult to get along with either of them after the divorce.

In 2012, when he was 16, Joseph became legally emancipated and moved in with a close friend while finishing high school.

The admission to IU Bloomington two years later was a relief to his sister, Vivian, and his father. College was good for him — with structure, friends, and independence, Joseph flourished. He was still estranged from his father, but Vivian passed along the news of Joseph’s success.

The Phone Call

The person on the other end of Vivian’s phone on Sept. 21, 2015, was Joseph’s old landlord. Vivian had cosigned a lease for her brother, and the landlord was calling to collect a $680 fee for ending the lease early. Joseph was planning to drop the check off with the landlord on Sept. 28. Vivian reminded her brother on Sept. 27 that he needed to pay the landlord by noon the following day. He assured her he would.

The Text Message

When Vivian awoke on Sept. 28, she had a strange text message from Joseph saying that he was leaving the country in order to protect her. The message asked her not to call, instead promising that he would be in touch as soon as he was settled.

Vivian assumed it was another one of Joseph’s pranks — he didn’t even have a passport — and she texted back with another reminder to pay the landlord. Phone calls to Joseph went to voicemail, but she didn’t worry until she found out from the landlord that her brother had never been by to pay what he owed.

IU Bloomington police conducted a welfare check and found that Joseph hadn’t attended classes that day and he wasn’t at his home. The rising panic was briefly quelled when police called Vivian to tell her that her brother was in jail, but it was just a clerical mistake. The next day, Sept. 29, Joseph was declared to be a missing person.

The Lake

Just two days later, a fisherman on Griffy Lake in Bloomington found the badly decomposed body of a male with binoculars tied around his neck. It was Joseph, and an initial autopsy report listed his cause of death as drowning.

Two months later, the completed autopsy had a shocking determination for cause and manner of death: suicide by drowning. Not only had Joseph’s body been in the lake, he had apparently been weighed down with a backpack full of 66 pounds of rocks.

The explanation, however, made no sense to Vivian. There was no indication that her brother was depressed or suicidal. There weren’t even that many rocks available at Griffy Lake — she tried to collect 66 pounds of rocks herself and couldn’t find enough. In order for the suicide-by-drowning theory to work, it meant Joseph would have needed to walk 45 minutes from his house, load a backpack full of rocks, and then step off a bridge into 5 feet of water. Joseph was 5 foot 7 inches tall and could have easily stood on the bottom of the lake.

The explanation for Joseph’s death makes no sense to the family, but police in Bloomington have apparently closed the case, saying in 2016 that they have not been asked to provide further investigative assistance.

For more mysterious cases like this one, stream Still A Mystery on discovery+.

Next Up

Investigating The Mysterious Death and Mutilation of Miguel Ángel Martínez Santamaría

The family of a Spanish man found dead in a fjord near Stockholm is searching for answers 16 years after his death. Did the body they buried really belong to their loved one?

The Brutal Murders Of Four Idaho College Students Remain A Mystery

On Nov. 13, 2022, four University of Idaho college students were murdered in their home, while two of their roommates were left unharmed. Police don’t yet have suspects or answers in this mysterious mass killing.

String Of Mysterious Disappearances, Deaths Has Small Texas County On Edge

“It seems odd that they all know each other and suddenly have fallen victim to foul play,” a private investigator says.

Mississippi Man Found Dead Month After He Calls Mother In Panic, Says Someone’s Trying To Kill Him

“Somebody murdered Rasheem Carter, and we cannot let them get away with this,” a family lawyer says of the case.

Who Killed Julia Niswender? Michigan Student Found Dead In Bathtub At Her Off-Campus Apartment

“She did not deserve this at all, and I miss her every day,” the victim’s twin sister says.

Beloved Detroit Neurosurgeon Found Murdered In His Home

Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover, 53, was discovered fatally shot and wrapped in a blanket in the crawl space of his attic on April 23, 2023. Police are now searching for answers about his murder.

Family Fights For Justice For Teacher Found With 20 Stab Wounds Whose Death Was Ruled A Suicide

On January 26, 2011, Ellen Greenberg, 27, was found in her kitchen with 20 stab wounds, including some on the back of her neck. For years, her family has fought for her case to be reexamined.

Paul Flores Sentenced To 25 Years To Life For Murder Of Kristin Smart

19-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996. Her remains have never been found.

Missouri College Student Brutally Killed By Cop Who Started Sexual Relationship With Him After Arrest

Investigators believe Jesse Valencia threatened to expose married father and patrolman Steven Rios’ involvement with him.

Questions Remain In 2009 Case Of High School Senior Found Dead On Minnesota Tribal Land

Stacy Hill, a Red Lake Nation girl, is remembered as a creative and popular student who loved “long walks with family and friends.”