Defrosting Cold Cases

One of the oldest cold cases in the USA has been solved … or, maybe not. What happened? On Dec 3, 1957, Maria Ridulph(7) vanished from a small-town street corner in Sycamore, IL,while playing in the snow. Ultimately arrested in July 2011 and sentenced in December 2012 for her murder is a man called Jack McCullough, formerly known [...]

Today, Jasper S. confessed to the rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. During the night of May 1, 1999, Jasper saw Marianne on bike. He stated that he did not know her. Jasper forced Marianne with a knife into the field where she was later found dead. More details will now be made public and we can expect [...]

From NCNewsPress: “Attorney General Jon Bruning today announced Vencil Ash III, 41, and Kelly Meehan, 24, were sentenced in relation to the 2003 shooting death of Ryan Guitron. Ash was sentenced to life imprisonment for one count of first-degree murder. He was found guilty by jury last month in Kimball County District Court. Meehan pleaded [...]

Kathy’s sister Debbie Wilson is releasing a book called “Sweet Scent of Justice” to tell the story of her sister’s murder. Police found her car abandoned near the then-Northeast Louisiana University, where she was a college student. Less than an hour later, an anonymous caller led authorities to her body. Kathy had been shot twice in [...]

Gregory Powell, a.k.a. the Onion Field Killer, is dead. He was incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville which is part of the state prison system. He had prostate cancer. In 1963, Gregory Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith killed LAPD officer Ian Campbell in an onion field near Bakersfield. Campbell’s partner, Karl Hettinger, ran to get help. [...]

The trial against Vencil Ash III in the cold case of Ryan Guitron started June 25 and wrapped up on July 2 with closing arguments. The jury deliberated for six hours. Ash was found guilty of murder in the first-degree. “Ash is scheduled to appear again in Kimball County Court on Aug. 21 for sentencing in the [...]

Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Chavez II, both 36, were found guilty of first-degree murder and special-circumstance allegations including murder during a robbery. They were teenagers at the time they killed Keith Combs and Eugene “Cliff” Ellis. Elias and Chavez were both sentenced to serve life without the possibility of parole. They both received consecutive life [...]

A verdict has been reached in the trial of two men accused of robbing and fatally shooting two San Diego-based sailors more than 18 years ago in an area of Otay Mesa popular for after-hours drinking and bonfires. Though detectives who documented the murder scene recovered fingerprints and genetic evidence apparently belonging to the killer(s), [...]

The long awaited trial in the cases of Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis has started. “Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Castro Chavez II, both 36, are each charged with two counts of murder in the Sept. 25, 1993, deaths of 20-year-old Eugene “Cliff” Ellis and 23-year-old Keith Combs. The victims were stationed aboard the aircraft [...]

Darren Bruce is a married father of three and has been a police officer for seventeen years. “I am a Detective Sergeant who has taken on various roles and am soon to undertake a change to run a Serious Sexual Offences Investigation Team. Over the years I have worked on Child Abuse Investigation Units and Major Investigation [...]