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 Jamestown, Va. - Researchers at Jamestown believe they may have solved Colonial America’s oldest unsolved murder case. 
 
 In September of 1996, archaeologists discovered human skeletal remains under an old roadbed about 100 yards from the colony church tower. 
 
 The remains were given the identifying tag of “JR102C,” and have been casually referred to as “JR.” 
 
 Tests revealed the remains to be that of a 19-year-old man who may have been a European immigrant living in colony for several years prior to his death. 
 
 According to the Jamestown Rediscovery Project, the man was buried in a coffin, which suggests he had a gentleman’s status. The bones of the right leg were found twisted and broken below the knee, with a lead musket ball and a smaller lead shot found on and within the bone. 
 
 Researchers believe the wound was the cause of death. 
 
 However, the true identity of the colonist remained unknown. 
 
 William Kelso, Director of Archaeological Research and Interpretation for the Jamestown Rediscovery Project, says new research points to a duel that took place in 1624 between George Harrison and Richard Stephens. 
 
 Harrison was shot and they believe his remains may be the mystery colonist. 
 
 "This wound shows that the person was killed by getting hit in the side of the knee. So in a duel, you stand sideways and this would come through like that," he says. 
 
 Kelso says “JR” may be the oldest forensic evidence of an unsolved murder in Colonial America but there are still questions to be answered despite their theories. 
 
 One doubt is due to the type of bullet. 
 
 "That's a combat round. It's almost like a shotgun but it also has a main bullet. So you wouldn't think unless somebody was cheating in the duel that they would have that kind of a load," Kelso says. ||||| Colonial America's Oldest Unsolved Murder 
 
 Enlarge image i Preservation Virginia (Jamestown Rediscovery Project) Preservation Virginia (Jamestown Rediscovery Project) 
 
 When archaeologists in Virginia uncovered the skeletal remains in 1996 of one of Jamestown's first settlers — a young European male designated as JR102C in the catalog — they said he was the victim in what was perhaps Colonial America's oldest unsolved murder. 
 
 At the time, archaeologist William Kelso, now director of archaeological research and interpretation at Jamestown Rediscovery, reported that "the lead bullet and shot fragments lodged in his lower right leg contained enough force to fracture his tibia and fibula bones, rupturing a major artery below the knee. JR would have bled to death within minutes." 
 
 Now, 17 years later, the forensic archaeologists at Jamestown may have identified the victim and, therefore, the perpetrator of the crime. Recent evidence, Kelso says, points to a duel in 1624 "where a man named George Harrison took a bullet in the leg and later died from it." 
 
 The bullet, found by researchers, "hit the right side of the knee suggesting the man was standing sideways, which would happen in a duel," says Kelso. "It is possible that JR102C is that man." 
 
 And the man who murdered Harrison in a duel, according to Kelso: Richard Stephens, a Jamestown merchant. Stephens went on to become a court commissioner and an outspoken detractor of Virginia Gov. John Harvey. In 1635, Stephens and Harvey engaged in fisticuffs, and Stephens lost teeth in the bargain. Stephens died circa 1636.
– Colonial America's oldest unsolved mystery involved remains that have been known only as "JR102C," or "JR" for short, but their owner's true name may have finally been uncovered. The bones were found, buried in a coffin, under an old roadbed in Jamestown in 1996, WTKR reports. Researchers knew the skeletal remains belonged to a 19-year-old man who may have been from Europe, who had probably been living in Jamestown for a few years, and who likely had the status of a gentleman (because of the coffin). His right leg bones were twisted and broken below the knee, and a lead musket ball and lead shot were found there; researchers determined that's what killed him. (The ammunition would have ruptured a major artery, NPR explains.) Now, the Jamestown Rediscovery Project says, new research has uncovered a 1624 duel between George Harrison and Richard Stephens. The remains may belong to Harrison, who was shot in the leg and died from the wound. "This wound shows that the person was killed by getting hit in the side of the knee. So in a duel, you stand sideways and this would come through like that," says a director for the project. However, one mystery still remains: “That’s a combat round. It’s almost like a shotgun but it also has a main bullet. So you wouldn’t think unless somebody was cheating in the duel that they would have that kind of a load." It's not the only recent nefarious discovery at Jamestown—scientists found evidence of cannibalism, as well.