Welcome to another Sum it Up! Exciting times with a lot happening during the summer. It deserves a Sum it Up post. Of course, I am thrilled to tell you that my post about the Penn State CSI Students’ opinion in the William Thomas Zeigler case has soared to DCC’s most popular and best read […]
Archives for July 2011
Penn State CSI Students on the Zeigler Case
Penn State CSI Students on the Zeigler Case: a review of Zeigler Project. During their final spring semester twenty five (25) undergraduate and five (5) graduate students from Penn State University (PSU) reviewed documents pertaining to the trial and conviction of William Thomas Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler was convicted in 1976 of murdering his wife Eunice Zeigler, […]
R.I.P Frank Bender
The Huffington Post brings the shattering news that Frank Bender passed away. “Bender used skulls from decomposed bodies as the basis for re-creating faces of unknown victims. Among his successes was the case of 18-year-old Rosella Atkinson, whose then-unidentified remains were found behind a city ball field in 1988. Police asked for Bender’s help, and […]
Sum it Up #25
It has been a while since I did a “Sum it Up” post. They will still be numbered but will not appear weekly anymore. I have received many questions from DCC readers and others about Elizabeth Short’s case (the Black Dahlia). Because of the slow down during the summer months, I have decided to keep collecting […]
Vidocq presents Ralph Ristenbatt!
Please welcome my friend Ralph Ristenbatt. Ralph wanted his forensic science students to dig into a real case. Could I help? Students in the Penn State Forensic Science Program, in collaboration with the Zeigler defense team, have been the first in the USA to have had an exclusive look into the Zeigler case. Ralph holds a […]
Recap #cclivechat July 15, 2011
Recap #cclivechat July 15, 2011. This themed chat was about the case of Elizabeth Short a.k.a. the Black Dahlia. A lot has been written about her case and obviously we cannot cover everything. We zoomed in on preserved evidence and possibilities for DNA and partial fingerprinting but of course, everything hinges on the availability of the […]
“Of Dolls and Murder” by Susan Marks
Guest blog post by Susan Marks, Director of new documentary film, Of Dolls and Murder. Before we had CSI or DNA, we had dolls – an unimaginable collection of doll house crime scenes known at the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. The dioramas were created into the 1930s and 1940 by wealthy heiress, Frances Glessner […]
“Delayed Justice” by Jack Branson and Mary Branson
“Delayed Justice” by Jack Branson and Mary Branson. The book starts with something I absolutely agree with and am grateful for the authors that they point it out: the families of the perpetrators are the forgotten secondary victims, and they suffer more than we can imagine. Thank you, Branson & Branson, for paying attention to something […]
Chris Birt on the Crewe Murders
In the magazine “North & South,” Chris Birt makes a strong case for an in-depth review of Len and Norma Thomas Demler’s involvement in the case. Note that Norma is not related to Arthur Allan Thomas. Strong ties have existed between the Demler and Thomas family for some time. The siblings in the family married each […]
“Who Killed Betsy?” by Derek Sherwood
“Who Killed Betsy?” by Derek Sherwood. Derek and I have been in touch for a while now to discuss the Betsy Aardsma case. No murder weapon was ever found, no defensive wounds on Aardsma, taunting letters and shrines but no biological materials to be tested for DNA and, no leads. Despite not having time to read his […]