Defrosting Cold Cases

18 years for Jasper S, that is what the judge handed down for the rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The prosecution had asked for 20 years. The defense did not deny the rape but argued that the murder was not intentional hence a reduced sentence was in order. The court did not accept that defense strategy [...]

Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013 Today we spoke about wrongful convictions with Nancy Petro. A short introduction to wrongful convictions started this crimechat. How do we find out about Wrongful Convictions in general? A: We discover that the victim is alive & well. Examples: India 2003, the Reena Devi case. Reena disappeared, her mother ID-ed her [...]

Death on Hold: Zeigler In the documentary “Death on Hold” you can see the trial and appeals in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. It explains why for the past 37 years, we have been trying to show you that he never had a fair trial. Judge for yourself whether there is room for doubt.

Verdict against Jasper S. expected April 19, 2013. Jasper S. is of course standing trial re the 1999 rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The prosecution asked for 20 years however, his lawyer thinks that is too much and expects a sentence of 15 years. He does not consider Marianne’s murder proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He [...]

Death on Hold; Zeigler Sunday March 31, 2013 This Sunday, WFLA airs a 30 minute special about William Thomas Zeigler. Announcing “Death on Hold” The second clip is here: Second clip announcing “Death on Hold” The clips show much that you already know if you have been reading my blog but it will add some [...]

Sum it Up! #40 There are a few cases that I am watching: The Italian Supreme Court heard arguments today re Amanda Knox. The story on CNN is here. The issue of extradition will most likely fail since the US Constitution prohibits that someone faces another prosecution on substantially the same charges (double jeopardy). Note [...]

Kathy Whorton’s case on TV March 10, 2013 Great news in the cold case of Kathy Whorton: her case will be discussed by Paula Zahn. The program is ”On the Case with Paula Zahn” and it will be on the Investigation Discovery Channel (I.D. Channel). Paula’s TV schedule is here but as I post this, the last [...]

Zeigler DNA Appeal denied From the Orlando Sentinel: “The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday denied an appellate motion by convicted killer Tommy Zeigler, the latest ruling in his three-plus-decade fight to get off death row.  Zeigler appealed to the state Supreme Court after a circuit judge denied his request to have DNA tests performed on [...]

Did Sture Bergwall kill the Stegehuis Family? That is THE question now in Sweden so they are reopening this case. The Dutch couple Marinus and Jannie Stegehuis were found murdered in their tent in July 1984 near Lake Vuolep Appojaure, Sweden. Sture Bergwall, convicted and sentenced in their case, is serving life for several crimes. However, [...]

The case of Eddie Gilfoyle is anything but straightforward or clear cut. His pregnant wife’s estimated time of dead occurred hours before she was found. In that time period, Eddie was at work. Paula was portrait as a happily expecting first time mom while she had a history of a suicide attempt and on no [...]