Paul Novack alerted me that the site has been updated. I like to draw your attention to some important official documents. I quote: “In 1968 and 1972, statements were made that implicate who was involved and what was done. Danny was murdered on Miami Beach shortly after his abduction from Surfside, and his remains were cast into […]
Forensics
18 years for Jasper S
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 […]
Update Robert Boulin
Update Robert Boulin: murder or suicide. In 2011, I posted that the death of Robert Boulin remains a mystery. Yes, he was in troubled waters. However, the manner in which he died and the way he was found, do not match suicide. While checking the papers and the Internet, I found an article from February of […]
Guilty verdict re John Sohus for Gerhartsreiter
Guilty verdict re John Sohus for Gerhartsreiter. His sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2013. He faces 25 years to life in prison for the murder conviction, plus two additional years because the jury also found that he personally used a blunt object and a sharp instrument as weapons. It was not a death penalty […]
Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013
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 […]
Recap #CrimeChat Feb 16, 2013
Recap #CrimeChat Feb 16, 2013 Subject: King Richard III A fascinating 90+ minutes with a line-up of great people on Twitter all discussing the finding of Richard’s skeleton, his armour, his reign and fate, and of course … could he have killed his older brother’s children. As requested, some links: my mini-series on the cold […]
It is King Richard III
It is King Richard III. It has now been confirmed that indeed the skeleton found beneath a parking lot is his. Richard’s remains were said to have been buried in Greyfriars church, Leicester. But this church was lost until archaeologists excavated a car park and discovered medieval remains. Victorian foundations had almost destroyed the entire grave and […]
The case of Eddie Gilfoyle
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 […]
Update Marianne Vaatstra
Update in the case of Marianne Vaatstra: according to Marianne’s father, his daughter did not know the man, Jasper S., whose DNA matched the biological materials left on Marianne’s body. He doubted that they knew each other especially if you consider the age differences. Marianne’s father did know Jasper’s children as they went to school […]
Fingerprint Misidentification
Fingerprint Misidentification: State of Indiana v. Lana Canen. Based on a fingerprint misidentification, Lana Canen spent eight years in prison for a murder she did not commit. But now, she has finally been exonerated of Helen Sailor’s 2002 murder. From the Wrongful Convictions Blog: “On Thanksgiving 2002, Helen Sailor, an elderly woman living in Elkhart, Indiana, was […]
No longer cold: the 1999 murder of Marianne Vaatstra
The 1999 cold case of Marianne Vaatstra is defrosting in the Netherlands. Marianne was only sixteen years old when she was found murdered. Police arrested many people and even held a large scale DNA search but, the perpetrator was never found. On September 29, 2012, police began a “DNA relationship testing” in a 5 km […]
New Jersey’s Lindbergh Kidnapping and Trial by Falzini & Davidson
New Jersey’s Lindbergh Kidnapping and Trial by Falzini & Davidson. A must for all who are interested in the Lindbergh kidnapping case and, for those who have doubts about Bruno Hauptmann’s involvement. This books is not a written story. Instead, it is a photographic diary that takes you through the crime, the investigation, the trial, the verdict, and […]
“All the Commissioner’s Men” by Chris Birt
“All the Commissioner’s Men” by Chris Birt is a book about the cold cases of Jeannette and Harvey Crewe. Their case is the reason for the wrongful conviction of Arthur Allen Thomas. Their only child Rochelle Crewe is calling for an independent review of her parents’ murder cases. The central word in this case seems to […]
Robert Henderson: trial starts
The trial against Jason Lee McCormick for the 1996 murder of Robert Henderson has started. Unfortunately, I must log in or buy a subscription to read the full article. Since I refuse to do that, I can only give you a bit of information. If you find full and free articles, please give me the links! From […]
Possible prosecution in 1985 Blakelock case
All the papers were buzzing since last night about a possible prosecution in the 1985 cold case of UK Police Officer Keith Blakelock. Officer Blakelock and his colleague Pc Coombes was was attacked by 300-strong mob as he tried to protect firefighters who were tackling a supermarket blaze at the height of the riot known as the […]
Recap #cclivechat Aug 3, 2012
Our guest today was Virginia Braden! Virginia Braden is a licensed Private Investigator and Behavioral Profiler specializing in violent crimes and cold case investigations. This includes death investigations, missing persons, and unidentified remains cases as well as rapes, sexual and physical assaults, stalking, domestic violence cases and elder abuse and child abuse cases. Virginia Braden […]
New manager on Caughlin case
New manager handling the Karen Caughlin case is great news. Fresh eyes to look over a file to see if we missed anything. On May 1, 2012, Inspector Chris Avery was assigned to the 1974 Caughlin investigation. The case of Karen Caughlin has featured here on DCC ever since Karen’s older sister Kathy contacted me by email. Kathy […]
Update Karen Caughlin
The Lambton Shield reports that “one of the suspects in the 1974 murder of Karen Caughlin may have died. It is believed that Miss Caughlin was struck by a vehicle and left for dead in a shallow ditch on the side of Plowing Match Road (formally known as Side Road 6-7) in Enniskillen Township, a couple kilometers northwest of […]
Update trial re Elizabeth Heath
Update in the trial re Elizabeth Heath: John Heath will stand trial in his wife’s death. To follow the court case in Elizabeth Heath’s trial you need these details: Court: Danbury GA 3 and JD The docket number: DBD -CR12-0143924-S Next Court Date: 7/12/2012 10:00 AM Dr. H. Wayne Carver, the chief state medical examiner, was in charge of […]
#cclivechat Recap June 15, 2012
In today’s #cclivechat, Sue Carney covered body fluids testing, limitations of tests and forensic interpretation of body fluids with us. It brought a few surprises such as that urine and feces contain very little DNA, that some cells look identical and are thus less suited for forensic purposes. Sue also indicated the difficulties with several tests and […]