Defrosting Cold Cases

Darren Bruce is a married father of three and has been a police officer for seventeen years. “I am a Detective Sergeant who has taken on various roles and am soon to undertake a change to run a Serious Sexual Offences Investigation Team. Over the years I have worked on Child Abuse Investigation Units and Major Investigation [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Peter Tobin, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Not sure why I did not post this before but yes, “Adam” has been identified! “The five-year-old’s identity has remained a mystery after he was smuggled into Britain and murdered in a voodoo-style ritual killing. He was drugged with a ‘black-magic’ potion and sacrificed before being thrown into the Thames, where his torso washed up next [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

Who killed Carl Bridgewater? We may never know but after reading Paul Foot‘s excellent analysis of the police interrogations, I am sure that none of the Bridgewater Four were involved. Even though the case dates back to 1978, I consider this book to be a classic to study how cases can go wrong fast. It [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Book Reviews, Carl Bridgewater, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, UK, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

In the clip below, Chris Sherliker discusses the illegality of phone hacking. He explains that what was understandable was still illegal and, what is completely not understandable in the News of the World episode of phone hacking as was done in the case of Milly Dowler. He also discusses what the future holds for the relationship [...]

Tags: Chris Sherliker, Milly Dowler, phone hacking, UK

We have a tentative identification on Adam, the name given to the boy’s torso found in the Thames, UK. “A boy of six whose torso was found mutilated in the Thames has been identified  ten years later. The tragic lad has been named as Ikpomwosa, from Nigeria, and a picture of  him  was released. Detectives believe [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here! by Sue Carney Imagine having an eclectic group of scientists at your disposal to ask any question you like. This is exactly what the ‘I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here’ project offers to approximately 8000 UK school children for two weeks, commencing Monday 13 June [...]

Tags: Crime Labs, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Sue Carney, UK

A request from the Rotterdam Cold Case Squad in the Netherlands: If you have any information at all about the life of John Sweeney and in particular, his travels to and in the Netherlands, please contact the Rotterdam Police. “John Sweeney, 54, from Liverpool, was given a whole life tariff at the Old Bailey after [...]

Tags: Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, the Netherlands, UK, Unsolved Homicide

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

Remember the Manchester Building Female Skeleton I posted about? Police is still trying to find out who the lady was. “Workmen unearthed a skeleton while digging up the former car park on land between Angel Street, Dantzic Street and Miller Street – an area known as Angel Meadow. Police believed the remains could have been [...]

Tags: DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Manchester, Missing Person, UK, Unidentified, Victim

In my Sum it Up post for week 7, I mentioned the UK trial going on in the Howell case. A man wants to be with his mistress. He kills the wife and the mistress’ husband and they think they will live happily ever after. Not so! Colin Howell has been sentenced to life serving [...]

Tags: Autopsy, Colin Howell, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Hazel Stewart, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, Prisons, UK, Victim