The Heino Tammet case

[Pravoslavnaya]

Lisa - I was intrigued that you mentioned the so called "Vancouver Alexis" in one of your recent posts.  This man's claim raises my dander up sometimes, but I think if he merits discussion.... dismissal...  whatever, why not bring it up here?  Right.

Curious as to your views on someone I consider an elaborate impostor...

[Katya04]

Here are some links on the Vancouver pretender (false Alexei)


http://www.npsnet.com/alexei_found/

http://www.russia.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=8216

[AGRBear]

Putting blood disorder aside for a moment:  Has anyone ever seen a picture drawn by a criminal expert that would show us what Alexei would have looked like as an adult?  Would he have looked like this Heino Tammet?
AGRBear

[Annie]

I'd love to see a computer ageing done on both Alexei and Anastasia to see what they would have looked like and how they compare to all the claimants.

[LisaDavidson]

So many questions. What I think is that this case merits investigation.

His widow, Sandra, has provided the British who were doing DNA testing with several of her husband's teeth for testing. After over 10 years, the scientists have not had the decency to provide her with results of the DNA tests. They tell her they have abandonded testing on potential survivors.

This testing would not be horribly expensive and should be done.

Without the results, I really don't know what to say about the case. Alexis' body is missing from the Koptyaki grave. Tammet had children who could also be tested. The question arises who should pay for these tests?

[Pravoslavnaya]

Dear Lisa --

Thank you for your reply.  I feel that if in fact the scientists did finish the testing as Mr. Kendrick claims, Mrs. Tammet would have heard the truth, most likely that her husband was not the Tsarevich.  It's far more likely that they did not even finish the process due to a lack of funds and had nothing more than that to report.  Conspiracy is not likely as an explanation for this.

It would be interesting to see if someone else could put the matter to rest.  If the article from Nature Genetics and the results of Prince Philip's blood tests are readily available, it would be nice - not earthshaking - if someone else did this and perhaps gave the poor woman some closure.  Tammet was just a renaissance man who overidentified with Alexei in his final years because of a common birth defect in boys that both just happened to have and a chronic blood disorder of his own.   Quite a tall tale -- but just a tale.  

[Ming]

Show me the DNA results.  Until those facts are published, the jury's still out.  Stick to the facts, please.  Just the facts.  

Lisa or Greg or Penny...is there anything anyone can do to find the results of the DNA testing and put this matter to rest once and for all?

[Annie]

Show me the DNA results.  Until those facts are published, the jury's still out.  Stick to the facts, please.  Just the facts.  

Lisa or Greg or Penny...is there anything anyone can do to find the results of the DNA testing and put this matter to rest once and for all?

Sorry, Ming, but even DNA won't put anything to rest once and for all. There are still people who claim the Anna Anderson tests were fake, botched, crooked, whatever

[Leslie_Romanov]

Hmm... I am quite interested in this case. I think that the test was stopped for a reason, maybe one of the other claimants to the throne wanted it stopped because it could have been him. I often wonder if it really was poor Aleksey. If it is his kids need some sort of recognition....

[Ming]

I certainly agree that the case should be looked into. I believe that at one time the claiment received a thank-you letter from his cousin (?), the Queen.  What does she know that we don't know??

Ming

[Forum Admin]

If you REALLY think the story is true, have a DNA test done, it would answer any question one way or another.

[Annie]

Who was 5'0" Not Alexei. At the end he was taller than his father who was 5'7".

[Pravoslavnaya]

Respected Pravoslavnaya; I've been looking for information on a person i met in 1959 from BC Canada who i was told was Aleksei Nikolaevich Romanov. When i found John Kendrick's web site, i recognised the man i met. Kendrick has several things wrong; He claims the man with that face was 5 foot 10 inches tall, he was closer to 5 foot 0 inches. Kendrick claims he died in 1977, but he came to me in 1969 terminally ill.
If you find the photo of him suposedly wearing the star of the Black Eagle, it is his face imposed on another body. I met him because my mother said he was my real father. She secretly married him in a Russian orthodox church and he told me her father was a king the same way mine was. I would welcome any investigation as to who he was. It would answer who i am. This whole thing has ruined my life.
Alekseovich

My dear 'Alekseovich' -- Without knowing where you are from, I find your salutation very Russian, and I get the distinct impression from the comment 'This whole thing has ruined my life' that this colorful Estonian man did not serve you or your mother well.   I must confess that all I am is a RO parishioner with a devotion to the real St. Alexei, and know nothing specific about Heino Tammet's claim or personality.  If you want more information on the 'Vancouver Alexei' relating to your concerns, I suggest you contact Mr. John Kendrick himself.  I believe his e-mail address is on the Tammet website.  I hope this suggestion may help you.

[LisaDavidson]

Show me the DNA results.  Until those facts are published, the jury's still out.  Stick to the facts, please.  Just the facts.  

Lisa or Greg or Penny...is there anything anyone can do to find the results of the DNA testing and put this matter to rest once and for all?

I don't know what Greg or Penny have done on this case, but I can tell you what I've done.

Sandra Tammet-Romanov provided several of her late husband's teeth to the UK team testing the Koptyaki remains. As far as she knows, testing was started and then at some point abruptly suspended. In the intervening years, Mrs. Tammet-Romanov has never had the teeth returned, has never received any sort of test results, and her requests for both remain unanswered.

In an attempt to resolve this, I was able to line up funding, a lab , and a scientist. All we needed was a tooth. I asked Mrs. Tammet-Romanov for a sample and told her if the preliminary test was positive, that I was sure I could line up funding for more definitive testing. She declined, citing the fact that she had already provided teeth to the UK scientists.

I can't really blame her, but it doesn't help in terms of settling this matter. I too would like to see this more definitively resolved, but I have no control over what Sandra T-R chooses to do with her late husband's samples.

[helenazar]

Preliminary mtDNA tests can be done relatively cheaply these days - around $300 or so. There are some labs that can do mail-in kits. If any samples from Mr Tammet are still available, this may be the way to go before spending a lot of money on elaborate tests.... I wonder if Mrs Tammet may change her mind and still decide to follow through with this... it would be interesting to find out what happens.