Justice Minister Simon Power has turned down calls for an independent inquiry into the 40-year-old murder mystery of the Crewe Family. “In response, Mr Power said he understood the interest in seeking closure, but his hands were tied. Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues can direct the police to reopen the case. Due to the constitutional separation […]
Archives for November 2010
The 1953 homicide of Officer Burchfield
Officer Richard Stanley Burchfield (May 26, 1918 – Nov 26, 1953) was murdered on Nov 26, 1953. He was a patrolman with the Colorado Springs Police Department. Burchfield was killed with a .22 caliber handgun by an unknown man during an armed robbery investigation in the area of 1600 N. Wood Ave. That robbery was part of a […]
Vidocq presents… Joe Giacalone
Meet Joe Giacalone, a 19 year law enforcement Supervisor and Commanding Officer of a Cold Case Squad that has investigated hundreds of homicide and missing person cases throughout his career. Joe Giacalone has a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice with a Specialty in Crime and Deviance. He is also an Adjunct Professor at John Jay […]
Penn State’s Forensic Science students to explore the Zeigler case
I am proud to announce a special collaboration with Penn State University’s Forensic Science Program. The students in this program will get access to crime scene photographs, police reports, witness statements and more to apply everything they have learned in class in a real case. The students will be able to explore bloodstain patterns observed […]
Remember Betsy Aardsma
I am very glad to report that police are waiting for DNA test results of Betsy’s red dress that she wore the afternoon she was killed. Betsy was stabbed in her heart and nobody heard her scream. She died on November 28, 1969. Betsy was a lively young woman, a reader, a great cook, and […]
Remembering Dana Bailey
Update: Dana’s sister Tracy told me that the young woman who appears in many newspaper photographs is actually not Dana but Dana’s roommate. Tracy kindly gave me a photograph of her beautiful sister. We hope that by publishing this photograph and this post the discussions in Dana’s case will pick up again. On March 5, 1987, Dana Bailey […]
The Killer of Little Shepherds
The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr is not just for readers interested in serial killers but foremost for those who love to read about forensic sciences. It is a book about the evolution of society, how good trusting people changed into cautious people filled with distrust for strangers. This is a book that […]
Zeigler, Part XVI
Zeigler, Part XVI: On misplaced pride, loyalty, and sacrifice On Nov 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley (a.k.a. the Memphis Three) will get their cases reviewed in a lower court hearing to see whether they should be granted a new trial. This means that they will […]
Riley Fox’s murderer gets life
Riley Fox’ murderer Scott Eby’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley‘s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a […]
Who killed Juan Antonio Espinosa?
The Arizona Daily Star published an appeal for help in the 1996 shooting of Juan Antonio Espinosa. “The 19-year-old construction worker and his friend went cruising on June 23, 1996. Around 10 p.m., the friend pulled his 1986 Cadillac into the parking lot of a Checker Auto Parts store on South Sixth Avenue to make a U-turn […]