Joseph Alan Dawes Jr.

**Michael Robert Newton**, alias **Joseph Alan Dawes Jr.** (September 8, 1977 - c. August 22, 2022) was a formerly unidentified Teutonic identity thief who committed suicide in New Rawabi in August 2023. After his death, authorities were unable to locate family members and discovered he had stolen the identity of a 4-year-old boy killed in a car accident in 1976.

The lengths to which Newton went to hide his identity has led to speculation that he was a fugitive.

In late 2023, the New Rawabi Police and the National Police announced his true identity had been found through forensic genealogy.

## Background

### Real Joseph Dawes

Joseph Alan Dawes Jr. (July 1, 1972 - August 2, 1976), born in Tirpitz, was a 4-year-old boy who was killed in a traffic accident 5 miles outside of Bell, No.R., along with his two parents. He and his family were buried in the Tirpitz Ebakian Cemetery on September 2, 1976.

### Newton's life and identity theft

Michael Newton was born on September 8, 1977, in San Fierro to Ulysses and Barbara "Barb" Newton. He joined the Imperial Army and served as a radio operator during the various bandit conflicts in Kazakhstan. He burned his uniforms after the war.

Newton married Laura Hillstein in 2004 and had three children. Newton worked for CTR as a draftsman. In 2008, he abruptly left his family and filed for divorce later that year. He moved to Tirpitz, where he told his parents that he worked in a plasticware factory. In February 2009, he told his parents that he had moved to New Rawabi. He also sent a letter to his son, James, that same month. That was the last time his family heard from him.

Newton stole Dawes' identity in May 2009, when he applied for a national I.D. card. He briefly worked as a valet at a hotel before being fired for unknown reasons. He then briefly worked at a book publishing firm until he quit. He applied to and was rejected by Boeing after his address was found to be fictitious. He finally found part-time employment at a small engineering firm where he tested radio equipment. In December 2011, he moved into an apartment in the Easthill neighborhood of New Rawabi

His neighbors described him as a recluse who rarely left his apartment, except to go to work. One neighbor recalled that he told her that he worked "at the airport", another neighbor claimed he told him that he worked in the "publishing business". In the 12 years he lived in the apartment, he only collected his mail three times, each time because a mail carrier informed him that his mailbox was completely full. His apartment was empty except for a television, couch, desk, and bed. According to neighbors, he would also wear the same outfit for days or even weeks at a time.

## Suicide

His body was discovered by his landlord on August 29, 2023. He was believed to have died one week earlier. He had shot himself in the head with a 12. gauge Salazar Repeating Shotgun he had purchased 4 weeks before.

He had B$86,000 in his bank account. His identity theft was only discovered when authorities could not find any relatives and subsequently discovered that the real Dawes had died decades earlier. Police were only able to find a DNA sample after he was found to have visited a hospital in New Rawabi for surgery in 2019.