Defrosting Cold Cases

As you know, our #cclivechat on July 15, 2011, centers on the case of Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth (July 29, 1924 – January 15, 1947) was found savagely murdered and her body was left in plain view for anyone to see the grotesque mutilations that she was subjected to before she died. Over the years, many authors [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Black Dahlia, Book Reviews, California, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Elizabeth Short, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Rape kits, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

The controversial chairman of the Texas Forensic Science  Commission will be out of the job next week. The state Senate Nominations Committee has ended its work  for this session without voting on Gov. Rick Perry’s appointment in 2009 of John  Bradley to chair the commission. Perry appointed Bradley to lead the commission days before it was to [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, Cameron Todd Willingham, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

The Caughlin family is calling for an independent external review of the 1974 murder of their little sister Karen Caughlin. “It’s been 37 years, and it’s time,” said Caughlin, who will hold a press conference in Sarnia next week to discuss and seek public support for the review. “This is not going to be solved under [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Canada, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Michigan, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Sarnia, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

The hearing today brought forward some more details about the fire. Key is of course whether the fire was accidental or arson. Also, exactly where  was the point of origin and what was the material that ignited first. From the New Hampshire Sentinel Source Online: “On Wednesday, a federal fire investigator supported Norton’s belief that [...]

Tags: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Crime Scene, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Update Hina Murders: A New Hampshire fire investigator says he doesn’t believe a lit cigarette started the fire that killed a Keene family of four in an adjacent apartment in 1989. Lawyers for 54-year-old David McLeod are in court challenging evidence prosecutors say shows that McLeod set the fire that killed a newlywed couple, their 4-month-old daughter [...]

Tags: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Cameron Todd Willingham, Crime Scene, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, New Hampshire, Police, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Part 4: “The timeline does not work and police do not care” by Tiah Two different private investigators interviewed everyone who was connected in any way to this case. Much of what they found I will discuss here. If I use the phrase “we know” it is because the information was collected and corroborated by [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Missing Person, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

Part 3: Who else was involved? by Tiah Ruble’s reputation was sullied by all his actions and lies and he chose to leave Kodiak. He has refused to speak to anyone regarding this case ever since. I strongly suspect that Ruble was somehow involved in Laura’s disappearance whether that involvement was direct or indirect. He [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Missing Person, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

The Hartford Courant reported what I had feared since last year: Richard Lapointe’s Habeas Petition was denied. “Superior Court Judge John J. Nazzaro, in a 51-page ruling issued late Friday, turned back arguments that prosecutors had withheld material evidence, that Lapointe’s trial and appellate lawyers were incompetent, and that new evidence proved Lapointe was innocent. [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, Bernice Martin, Connecticut, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

Part 2: The Changing of the Stories by Tiah  ______________________ After the police had spoken to all Laura’s co-workers they all said they didn’t know anything about a meeting except for CW. But even she didn’t have a name for this unknown man. Police had asked them to all come in and give a written [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Alaska, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Kodiak, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

Please welcome guest blogger Tiah! Unlike most guest bloggers on my site, Tiah is not involved in the legal world.  Instead, she is an accountant, a far leap from the world of forensics and law!  Tiah has assisted on appeal cases in the past; she was the lay person who reviewed transcripts of court cases.  [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Alaska, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, FBI, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Kidnapping, Kodiak, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Miscarriage of Justice, Missing Person, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions