A new docuseries from Investigation Discovery revisits the baffling case of Benjaman Kyle, a man found naked and unconscious behind a Burger King in Georgia in 2004 with no memory of his identity. The four-part series, airing over two nights, suggests the mystery may be darker than previously thought.
Filmmakers Shannon and Eric Evangelista of Hot Snakes Media initially aimed to help the man recover his identity. However, they uncovered inconsistencies in his story and witness accounts linking him to several cold cases and a possible connection to a Midwestern crime family. In 2015, genetic genealogists identified him as William Burgess Powell, an Indiana man who went missing in 1976.
Shannon Evangelista now alleges that Powell may never have had amnesia. She claims he may have ties to a notorious crime family in Lafayette, Indiana, and to George Keck, a person of interest in the 1977 murder of Purdue student Kristine Kozik. Both Powell and Keck worked as janitors at Purdue at the time of Kozik's disappearance.
Powell was found on August 31, 2004, behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He was diagnosed with dissociative amnesia and assumed the name Benjaman Kyle based on his initials. He had vague memories of Denver and Indiana but could not recall how he ended up in Georgia. His story gained national attention, including appearances on Dr. Phil.
After identification, Powell obtained legal ID and government assistance. However, questions remain about his life between 1976 and 2004. The docuseries explores witness accounts and a conversation with Keck, who died in 2020, as filmmakers continue to investigate Powell's past.
