Defrosting Cold Cases

There is no way of knowing when the murder of Trey Noah will finally go to court. Brandon Harber and Shelby Moore were charged with Trey’s murder and will eventually be tried in Gillespie County, TX. However, “an initial confession from Moore was tossed out in a pre-trial hearing. The DA is appealing that decision. That [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Ballistics, Crime Scene, Evidence, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Kendalia, Police, Texas, Trey Noah, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Exciting news in the Mercury: “The Texas Forensic Science Commission on Friday approved 17 recommendations for improving arson inquiries. The panel also is suggesting a review of murder convictions involving fires, starting with prisoners on death row.” Of course, reading about forensic arson detection brings to mind the cases of Daniel Dougherty(PA), David McLeod(NH) and [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, Cameron Todd Willingham, Capital Punishment, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensic arson detection, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

There isn’t going to be any movement in the murder trial for Trey Noah any time soon. Shelby Moore and Brandon Harber are charged  with first-degree felony murder as well as tampering with physical evidence, a second-degree felony. They were both arrested in June 2010 and are now released on bond. From the Blanco News: [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Ballistics, Crime Scene, Evidence, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Texas, Trey Noah, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

According to the website of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Henry Skinner is set to be executed Nov. 9, 2011. In March of this year, the justices ruled that Skinner had the right to sue a Texas district attorney under a federal civil rights law for refusing to allow him access to evidence for [...]

Tags: Capital Punishment, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Finger Printing, Forensics, Henry Skinner, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Texas, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

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 Statesman reports that “a draft report issued today by the Texas Forensic Science Commission on the evidence used to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham focuses on training and education initiatives for fire investigators and makes several suggestions for continued improvement for investigations. The report, as expected, takes pains to say that it does [...]

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

“The lady in the Barrel” has been identified by DNA. Forensic scientists used DNA that was collected during the autopsy of Tracie De Ann Lutz. Tracie was killed in 1990. Her DNA was used to identify her slain twin sister Stacie Anderson. Stacie’s skeletal remains were found stuffed inside a barrel at her husband’s home in 2010. Her husband, Dennis Anderson, later [...]

Tags: Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Prisons, Texas, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

A Republican leader in the Texas Senate is stalling a vote that would oust the head of the state Forensic Science Commission so the controversial chairman can stay in place to rule on the Willingham case questioning whether he was executed based on faulty arson evidence. The forensics panel is set to meet next week to consider its [...]

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

The Girl Behind the Blue Eyes – Who Was Elizabeth Pfeifer? I was asked by Vidocq to introduce my sister, Elizabeth Pfeifer. Although the young woman I knew would be willing to come forward and speak for herself, she can’t. You won’t hear from Elizabeth because she’s been missing since April 12, 1986. Elizabeth was [...]

Tags: DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Texas, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Elizabeth’s life has been troubled from the start. Shortly after she was born on December 10, 1965, she was given up for adoption. The Pfeifer family had already adopted Laura, also from birth. As you can immediately tell, we have a DNA problem here. If we ever find items that may hold biological materials that [...]

Tags: DNA, Evidence, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Police, Texas, Victim, Witnesses