I agree it's a weird story so I have google-snooped and I have confirmed as much as I can of his history - ex-wife and kids check out online, graduation from high school in Chicago confirmed, Masters Degree from Tulane confirmed, has his military ID and an old ID badge from when he worked at Qualcomm.
I couldn't find anything about his parent's death yet but his stories about them have been very consistent. I don't have details like their birthdates - if I did I probably could find more. I've recommended he send for their death certificates as that may be useful in his attempts to fix things. If he does then I could confirm that part of the story as well.
I would have thought the lack of a birth certificate strange if I didn't know the story about my friend's daughter not having one - and she was born in the early 80's! Maybe it was an African American thing as both fathers were black? Distrust of the system or just lack of awareness of the importance? Or maybe it's just something no one thinks to tell new parents who have a baby born unexpectedly outside the hospital?
I think I'm less concerned now about the story and more about the personality traits that led to him letting this go on so long. I do think he was worried he'd get in trouble and didn't want to rock the boat, but it also seems like he has an ostrich tendency. I think he was an ostrich in his marriage too, ignoring his wife's alcoholism until it became so bad he had to acknowledge it.
