Vidster (Vidocq’s nickname) is a pen name. He is a fictional character.

Vidster loves to spend the day surrounded by books and files. He is a very patient man, very quiet and reserved. He enjoys coffee and never eats a cold dish for dinner unless it is sushi! He is the older gentlemen you see in coffee shops and on park benches reading the papers. Always armed with a notebook and a fountain pen, he loves to stroll through town.

Vidster was created by me. He does not exist in real life but I do. Who I am is not important though. The unsolved homicide cases on this blog are what matters. That is what everyone should focus on.

Why did I start this blog?

I am a lawyer with a long history in the fields of criminology and human rights defense; however, I am not a practitioner. My work got me in touch with many police departments and those collaborations resulted in this blog.

Unsolved homicides have always left me frustrated. Not being able to answer families’ questions or to give them some information, made me feel helpless. I do not think for one moment that just because the cases are now out on the web, we will immediately find answers. However, knowing that so many more people can now read about them gives me hope that maybe some day, we will succeed.

A cold case is like a puzzle. We try to fit the pieces together. Usually people start with the edges and then continue with the best or most recognizable part of the (perceived) image. Sometimes that works very well. However, if after decades the puzzle pieces still do not fit together then maybe it is time to think outside the box.

Maybe the bits of information that formed a single puzzle piece were never meant to be placed together. Maybe we started the puzzle with the wrong pieces or, in the wrong order. So, what would happen if we started in another order or with different pieces? 

That is exactly what my blog does. I look at the puzzle again and try to find out whether there were alternative explanations for the facts in hopes to regroup the puzzle pieces and the timeline, to get a clearer picture. I may not start with the image and I will stray from the edge. However, if a case has not been solved for decades the least we can do now is give “alternative puzzle piecing” a shot. We just might find out that it works!

On DCC, you will not only find posts about unsolved homicides. I also write about missing persons, unidentified persons, forensics, wrongful convictions, and books related to the above mentioned subjects. Add some calls for help from the cops, my series “Sum it up!” and “Vidocq presents!, #cclivechat, and the mix is complete. If get irritated enough a legal opinion will appear here as well!

I welcome your comments! Feel free to drop me a line by using the contact page. More information can be found on the FAQ page.

Cheers!