In part 4 of my series on Forensic Genealogy, we look at what is happening in Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court, in a 4-3 split, decided on June 18, 2021, to ban police from searching the people’s uncollected trash without a warrant. In doing so they outlawed a decades old investigative technique. The Justices said […]
Elodie Kulik: Barton sentence upheld
On July 1, 2021 the North Assize Court of Appeal in Douai, France, confirmed the 2019 verdict of the lower court that sentenced Willy Bardon to 30 years in prison. Bardon was accused, convicted, and sentenced for the 2002 kidnapping, confinement, rape, and murder of Elodie Kulik. One of the conflicting points was that the […]
Myrtle M. Sayers Smith (1895-1930)
A case like this from Myrtle M. Sayers Smith, this old, is hard to solve. All people involved in the case have passed away. We would need preserved evidence hoping that nothing has deteriorated beyond what can be tested for DNA. Or, we need documented confessions, witnessed on deathbeds, or written in journals, wills, etc. […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 3
Two US states have enacted bills to protect people’s privacy when the authorities use commercial direct-to-consumer DNA databases and forensic genealogy to solve old crimes. What happens when they use DNA databases? Police use DNA from an old unsolved crime scene and compare it to genetic online profiles in commercial DNA databases. They will try […]
Owachige Elice Osceola
The authorities have a pretty good idea who killed Owachige Elice Osceola (27) but they need your help to provide that one missing piece of the puzzle. This is the Case of the Month for June 2021. The Case On September 25, 2013, Norman Police conducted a welfare check at Ridgecrest Court, in Norman, Oklahoma. […]
Karen Kaye Knippers identified
We called her the Pulaski County Jane Doe as for 40 years, we didn’t know her name. Now we do: Karen Kaye Knippers. From KCRG: “Three Sheriffs, J.B. King, Ronald Long, and current Sheriff Jimmy Bench continued searching for answers through the years, along with Coroner Mikel Hartness, who got a court order in 2015 […]
Four Shots in Oskie by Justin Wingerter
From the moment I held the book ‘Four Shots in Oskie’ by Justin Wingerter in my hands, the word unassuming started to flutter around in my brain. Like the sound of rustling leaves on a windy fall day, the sound popped up in various degrees of loudness, often just a whisper, to never really leave. […]
Zeigler, at long last: DNA testing
A motion was filed today by the William Thomas Zeigler defense team with the approval of the Orange County State Attorney’s office for DNA testing. It still needs a judge’s approval however, these joint motions are seldom denied. But, as we have been asking for DNA testing since 1994, I will not be able to […]