Defrosting Cold Cases

Home page: here you can find a quick overview of some trials that I am watching, my Twitter #crimechat dates, and an overview of my latest posts. Let’s give as many cold cases as possible a web presence to make sure that the victims are not forgotten.

As indicated here, I will speak the ReInvent Law London 2013 so if you are around that time, come out and say hello!

#crimechat:

If you use Twitter, join me for a monthly crime chat (hashtag #crimechat, previously #cclivechat). The chats cover a variety of topics ranging from book discussions to forensic arson detection. The schedule is below.

2013

November: Private Investigator Virginia Braden returns for another cold case analysis. Details TBA after the summer.

September: Christa M. Miller will join me to discuss digital evidence in cold cases. Christa’s website is here and her Twitter account is here. Details TBA after the summer.

June 14: I will be live tweeting from #ReInvent Law London 2013 before and after my talk! Stay tuned for more details.

May 23: CANCELLED from 12-1pm EST, Gary Lee Walters returns to discuss sexsomnia. The case that inspired this chat is here. Gary’s website is here and his Twitter account is here.

Clerk Watch:

John Heath’s trial has been delayed until July 16, 2013 according to the docket of the Danbury GA 3 and JD court. Heath will stand trial for the murder of Elizabeth Gough Heath. He has pleaded not guilty and was not released on bond.

Alas, Zeigler’s last DNA appeal was denied, see post here. He still has an appeal pending based on newly discovered evidence.

A new trial was ordered for Richard Lapointe but so far a date has not been set. The state is appealing.

As for the Trey Noah case, I have been able to find the indictment for Shelby Moore but not for Brandon Harber. Should you have a link to that document or to a newspaper article discussing his indictment, please contact me.

Christian Gerhartsreiter was found guilty in the cold case of John Sohus. He will face sentencing on June 28, 2013.

My second mini-series on the historical mystery of the Princes in the Tower (Edward V and Richard of York) has been posted and can be found here. I think that King Richard III had more to gain by keeping them away from harm and alive than to see them dead. Two #crimechats were dedicated to this cold case. The recaps and verbatim threads are here and here. My first mini-series on an historical mystery involved the Man in the Iron Mask. I am currently doing an Internet search for another historical mystery. I like to dig into unsolved puzzles! Of course, in due time my thoughts will be posted here.

Cheers, V

In my earlier post, Jacques’ answers, I mentioned Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – most bloggers know ‘it has something to do with keywords’, but it entails much more – in fact, it has become a complete new industry as it requires a lot of work: not only need your posts be optimized for the engines [...]

RTI International webinar on backlogs in crime labs and their impact on the justice system This morning I attended this webinar and learned more about the backlogs in crime labs, what causes them, whether all labs have a case acceptance policy, the costs involved and much more. The live discussion took place in Washington DC [...]

ReInvent Law London 2013 … I had never heard of this series of crowd-sourcing conferences until Brian Inkster told me about it. And he dropped the hint that I might want to go. I read up online what the conference was about. “we believe lawyers can change the world but to change the world we [...]

Beyond the Man in the Iron Mask: by request, I post all three parts that I wrote as guest posts for other bloggers here for readability. ___________________________________ I like to read about old unsolved cases. We usually refer to them as historical mysteries. One of them is the story of the unknown prisoner or the man [...]

18 years for Jasper S, that is what the judge handed down for the rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The prosecution had asked for 20 years. The defense did not deny the rape but argued that the murder was not intentional hence a reduced sentence was in order. The court did not accept that defense strategy [...]

R.I.P. Elizabeth Miles … my heart is breaking. A lovely old friend has passed away. Elizabeth Miles, founding director and chairman of Iken, passed away last weekend. My friend, Brain Inkster, just told me. He wrote a beautiful post about Elizabeth. I quote: “Elizabeth was one of my very early connections on Twitter – way [...]

Update Robert Boulin: murder or suicide. In 2011, I posted that the death of Robert Boulin remains a mystery. Yes, he was in troubled waters. However, the manner in which he died and the way he was found, do not match suicide. While checking the papers and the Internet, I found an article from February of [...]

Guilty verdict re John Sohus for Gerhartsreiter. His sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2013. He faces 25 years to life in prison for the murder conviction, plus two additional years because the jury also found that he personally used a blunt object and a sharp instrument as weapons. It was not a death penalty [...]