Defrosting Cold Cases

“All the Commissioner’s Men” by Chris Birt is a book about the cold cases of Jeanette and Harvey Crewe who feature on my blog. They have this prominent place not in the least because they are tied to the wrongful conviction of Arthur Allen Thomas or, to the call from their only child Rochelle Crewe to finally get [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, arthur allen thomas, Autopsy, Ballistics, Book Reviews, Chris Birt, Crewe Murders, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Miscarriage of Justice, Missing Person, New Zealand, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rochelle Crewe, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Vivien Harrison, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

Supplementary statement by Chris Birt regarding the alleged viewing by Bruce Roddick on 1 June 1972: This 1 June 1972 statement was produced, for the first time, at the crucial February 1973 First Referral to the Court of Appeal which granted, against all odds, Arthur Thomas his re-trial. The retrial was held in April 1973. [...]

Tags: arthur allen thomas, Autopsy, Ballistics, Bruce Roddick, Chris Birt, Crime Scene, Evidence, Forensics, Gun Fire, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Len Demler, New Zealand, Police, Rochelle Crewe, the woman who fed Rochelle, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

This #cclivechat was not planned since I expected to be tied up until later in the afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to be dismissed early so I told you about some favourite true crime books. Books are an important part of my life. They have shaped some of my thoughts, they question my beliefs, they [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Book Reviews, Capital Punishment, cclivechat, Chris Birt, Crewe Murders, Crime Scene, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Gun Fire, Marilyn Sheppard, Marion and Elsie Miley, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Sam Sheppard, the Ford Heights Four, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, William J. Buchanan, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

A new book by Chris Birt is out to shed more light on the Crewe Murders. From the web: “Researcher Chris Birt says he has finally cleared up one mystery – the timing of when detectives planted the cartridge case that pointed to Thomas, who spent 10 years in prison before being released, pardoned and [...]

Tags: arthur allen thomas, Chris Birt, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Len Demler, New Zealand, Rochelle Crewe

The lid has been lifted on the extent of police malpractice in New Zealand’s most controversial homicide inquiry. In a new book, released today Friday 15 June long-time Crewe murders researcher and writer Chris Birt chronicles a significant list of what he determines are acts of malpractice and ropes more of the original homicide squad [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, arthur allen thomas, Autopsy, Ballistics, Book Reviews, Chris Birt, Crime Scene, Evidence, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Miscarriage of Justice, New Zealand, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rochelle Crewe, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

In the magazine “North & South,” Chris Birt makes a  strong case for an in-depth review of Len and Norma Thomas Demler’s involvement in the case. Note that Norma is not related to Arthur Allan Thomas! Strong ties have existed between the Demler and Thomas family for quite some time. The siblings in the family married [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, arthur allen thomas, Autopsy, Ballistics, Book Reviews, Capital Punishment, Chris Birt, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Len Demler, Miscarriage of Justice, New Zealand, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rochelle Crewe, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions