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Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

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You are here: Home / 2012 / Archives for November 2012

Archives for November 2012

Update Marianne Vaatstra

November 27, 2012 By Alice

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 […]

Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics Tagged With: DNA Database, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Marianne vaatstra, Police, the Netherlands

Fingerprint Misidentification

November 27, 2012 By Alice

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 […]

Filed Under: Forensics, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Forensics, Identification, Indiana, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, post-conviction relief

No longer cold: the 1999 murder of Marianne Vaatstra

November 20, 2012 By Alice

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 […]

Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics, Unsolved Tagged With: DNA Database, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Marianne vaatstra, Rape kits, the Netherlands

Zeigler: his latest motion denied

November 14, 2012 By Alice

William Thomas Zeigler/Grid AdS

Zeigler’s latest motion to vacate judgment was denied.  On November 13, 2012. Judge Whitehead denied the motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence based on newly discovered evidence in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler has been on death row for the 1975 quadruple murders that took place on Christmas Eve inside […]

Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice, Zeigler Tagged With: Brady violations, Capital Punishment, DNA Database, Florida, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler, withheld evidence

Announcing #CrimeChat

November 2, 2012 By Alice

#CrimeChat will replace #cclivechat on Twitter. The chats that were already scheduled will take place on that agreed upon date and time e.g. Fridays from noon-1pm EST. This will change for future chats. They may no longer be weekly and may take place on different days of the week to better accommodate the schedules of […]

Filed Under: #crimechat Tagged With: #crimechat

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Dina Fort

Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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