Defrosting Cold Cases

Not sure why I did not post this before but yes, “Adam” has been identified! “The five-year-old’s identity has remained a mystery after he was smuggled into Britain and murdered in a voodoo-style ritual killing. He was drugged with a ‘black-magic’ potion and sacrificed before being thrown into the Thames, where his torso washed up next [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Tags: Autopsy, Black Dahlia, Book Reviews, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Faulty Evidence, FBI, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

We have a tentative identification on Adam, the name given to the boy’s torso found in the Thames, UK. “A boy of six whose torso was found mutilated in the Thames has been identified  ten years later. The tragic lad has been named as Ikpomwosa, from Nigeria, and a picture of  him  was released. Detectives believe [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Riley Fox’ murderer’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley’s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a creek near [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Today, a psychologist examined Scott Eby, the man accused of killing Riley Fox. Dr. Randi Zoot did the work with Scott Eby while in the Will County Courthouse. She is trying to determine if he is fit for trial. The legal concept of fitness is related to a defendant’s ability to understand court proceedings and [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Six days before the Bennett Family was butchered and bludgeoned in their own home, Patricia Smith was killed by the same person, authorities will reveal at a news conference later today. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation recently tied the two 1984 cases together through a DNA match, said Steve Davis, spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department. The [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Colorado, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Authorities will get a closer look at the hands of the man accused of sexually assaulting and drowning 3-year-old Riley Fox. Smudged prints were found on the back door to the Foxes’ Wilmington home at the time of the 2004 abduction and murder, but testing of those prints has yet to find a match, case [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, FBI, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Police, Rape kits, Riley Fox, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Amber remains in protective custody in Los Angeles and it was not clear if she will be reunited with her foster parents. Authorities have not released any names or filed any charges but continue to investigate. “This girl was taken away from the only parents and family that she knows yesterday,” said Phoenix police Sgt. [...]

Tags: Amber Nicklas, Arizona, California, Child Abuse, Cruelty, Evidence, FBI, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Victim

Amber Nicklas, a California girl who had been missing for almost seven years was found last Wednesday by police in Phoenix, Arizona, authorities said. The girl had just turned a year old when she was abducted in September 2003. She had been in the care of foster parents in Norwalk, California, when she was snatched [...]

Tags: California, Child Abuse, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Victim

Lisa Black and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune have written an excellent piece about what makes people confess falsely. False confessions are not so uncommon as you would think. I understand that right now you shake your head and question Vidocq’s sanity…justifiably so! Why would a parent confess to raping their own three year old [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Child Abuse, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, FBI, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Wrongful Convictions