Defrosting Cold Cases

From the Denver Post: “Investigators taking a new look at the unsolved 1993 kidnapping and murder Alie Berrelez (5) matched a DNA sample to a long dead suspect in the case — ending a saga for the little girl’s family.  Nicholas Randolph Stofer was a focus of the investigation as far back as February 1994, but prosecutors [...]

Tags: Alie Berrelez, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Rape kits, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Bernard Jackson was found guilty of 18 total counts of rape, sodomy, and robbery in the cases of four women dating back to 1983 and 1984. The prosecution built their case on DNA. Most victims were never able to give a 100% identification of their attacker due to the fact that they were blindfolded. Fingerprints left [...]

Tags: Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Rape kits, Victim

New details emerged and people have been ruled out by DNA in the case of the “Manchester Building Female Skeleton.” We now have a facial reconstruction of the victim. She was most likely European but could have come from the Middle East or Indian sub-continents. She also had a number of fillings in her teeth [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Manchester, Missing Person, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Rape kits, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

DNA: What Else Can We Do With It? by Sue Carney In my previous DNA posts on DCC and in Cold Case Live Chats (#CClivechat), a few other DNA techniques have often been mentioned. It seems appropriate therefore, to provide a little detail on these techniques: How they work and when best to use them. [...]

Tags: Crime Labs, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Identification

There is a string of news paper articles about the DNA hearing for William Thomas Zeigler that took place at 8am this morning in Orange County, FL! Some are correct and others are not. According to ABC Action News, Private Investigator Lynn-Marie Carty of Reunite People says the evidence she has uncovered will point the [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Florida, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, William Thomas Zeigler, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

Our chat felt short today, mostly because technology deserted us around 1228pm EST. Note the time, folks, this could be monumental! Where were you when Twitter web, Tweetdeck and Twitter Chat stopped updating their mentions and hash-tagged searches? The biggest chunk of the chat was taken up by two Canadian cold cases: Christine Prince and Karen [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Canada, Christine Prince, Crime Scene, DNA Database, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Karen Caughlin, Police, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Arthur Allen Thomas’ ex-wife and staunch supporter died of cancer. “Harrison filed for divorce after Thomas’ guilty verdict remained in place after the second trial. She changed her name from Vivienne Thomas to Vivien Harrison. She remained a staunch supporter of his innocence, maintaining he was home with her at the time of the murders. In [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, arthur allen thomas, Autopsy, Ballistics, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Finger Printing, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe, Miscarriage of Justice, New Zealand, Police, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

“What Are the Chances? Interpretation of a DNA Match” by Sue Carney  Didn’t someone once say “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”? Whoever said it is another story, but the point I’m making is that when numbers are used to support a point of view, there may be doubt or [...]

Tags: DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Sue Carney

On the night of July 10th, 2008, Hank Johnson was found by his girlfriend. He was severely beaten and on the floor of his hotel room, covered in his own blood. He was beaten with baseball bats, had three cracks in his skull, and a fatally cracked nose. He never regained consciousness. Hank died less than two weeks [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

“Jackson County prosecutors today filed 22 charges against Bernard Jackson, a twice-convicted sex offender, in connection with the series of rapes that terrified women in the Waldo area a year ago. Prosecutors used DNA from a lotion bottle and a shirt to link Jackson, 53, to two of the five attacks that happened between September [...]

Tags: Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Investigations Division, Kansas City, Missouri, Police, Prisons, Rape kits, Victim, Witnesses