The 2014 Review just got in! Some details from the report: This blog was viewed about 190,000 times in 2014 (that is double from 2013!) The busiest day of the year was December 15th with 7,722 views. The most popular post that day was In search of Jane, Grant and Arnna In 2014, there were […]
Archives for 2014
Season’s Greetings
This season of festivities and joy is bitter-sweet knowing that some loved ones are missing from our table. Some families lost their loved ones and had hoped to get some answers this year. Some did, yes. But progress is slow and there is no telling which cases will get answers in the New Year. I wish […]
The M-Vac System
The M-Vac System is a wet-vacuum based forensic DNA collection device that is helping investigators solve more crime. It has been used on dozens of cases and has produced DNA profiles many times when traditional methods such as swabbing and cutting have failed to produce viable results. It is ideal for touch DNA scenarios, and can […]
The December Killings
The December Killings always give me pause. During this month, we lost Maria Ridulph, Shawn K. Simmons, Officer Deriek Crouse, Kimberly Ann Thompson went missing, Leo Resk, and Gregory McRoberts was killed in a hit-and-run. Michelle Martinko was murdered, Eric Beasley was killed, and Amber, Karmon, and Kameron Willingham died during the accidental fire that led to their father’s wrongful execution. Patty Vaughan […]
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction has been part of my life since 1993 when I started working for Amnesty International in Switzerland. I am appalled that the injustice endures. In December 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store in Wintergarden, Florida. The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry […]
Nominee 2014 ABA Top 100 Blawgs!
Nominee 2014 ABA Top 100 Blawgs! What wonderful news on the day my blog turned five years old: it is nominated for the 2014 American Bar Association’s Top 100 Blawgs (law blogs) in the category criminal justice. Of course, I need your votes. But just like last year, your votes are not for my glory. […]
Fifth Anniversary: Nov 24, 2009-2014
Fifth Anniversary: Nov 24, 2009-2014. This month five years ago, I bought the domain name Defrosting Cold Cases. I made that name up. I wanted to blog about unsolved homicides but predominantly about those cases where the victim had absolutely (or hardly any) no web presence and those victims who had no celebrity spokesperson attached […]
Lisa Peak – Julie Benning – Valerie Klossowsky
Lisa Peak – Julie Benning – Valerie Klossowsky is a guest post written for DCC by Jody Ewing, the blogger behind Iowa Cold Cases. I was contacted a while ago by a reader, Tom, who alerted me to Lisa’s case. After an Internet search, Jody and I decided to work on this together and see […]
Rightful Owner by Hemmie Martin
Rightful Owner by Hemmie Martin is an interesting, fast read. A preview of the first chapter is available here for free. As you can read there, we are dealing with a closed club for a select few. They go through a routine to assume anonymity when they pick their pleasure partner for the evening. A club […]
A 19th Century Coffin revolutionized 20th Century Forensic Science
A 19th Century Coffin revolutionized 20th Century Forensic Science is a guest blog post by Dolly Stolze. Dolly is a writer and has a Masters in Forensic Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles. Though her first love is Forensic Anthropology, she also enjoys writing about macabre history and the weird things that happen to human remains. […]
Case of the Month: Lisa Thomas
Case of the Month: Lisa Thomas (August 19, 1959 – October 7, 1974) is one of the many cases that we need to look at again. We have new technology, new cold case investigative teams, and we have the Internet. It is through the Internet that I was made aware of this unsolved case. Mavis […]
Blood of the Rose by Kevin Murray
One evening over an excellent dinner, my friend David Swinson and I were complaining about mistakes made in TV shows related to cops, crime, and corpses. Our families wholeheartedly agreed that we both spoil movies for them and gladly send us out of the room so they can watch in peace. With this background information […]
Update Albert Ray McQueen
Update Albert Ray McQueen was made possible after emails with his family. I quote: “Albert was missing for a year before his bones were found in 1980. Two siblings went up to the gorge and they are the ones who found his glasses and a piece of his vertebrae that the police missed. He was […]
The long-awaited review report of the Crewe Murders
The long-awaited review report of the Crewe Murders can be found here but it may not hold the answers to all the issues that we discussed here on my blog. If you open the first link you will see the website with a short clip on the review. Below is the report in parts or […]
Update: the Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask, a mystery we can solve even today. Yes, I can see you frown. Is this not a case from way back then? Yes, but that does not mean we can forget about victims, can we? I blogged about this case and I repost the link here so you can read up on […]
Jack Absolute
Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys was not a targeted purchase. I bought it on sale when Books-A-Million was still alive here. The cover art appealed to me. It may be difficult to see on the picture but the cover is a three-fold piece of art. The bottom is a map that portrays part of the […]
Sigrid M. Stevenson (Jan 24, 1952 – Sept 4, 1977)
Sigrid M. Stevenson (Jan 24, 1952 – Sept 4, 1977) a.k.a. the Kendall Hall Murder Mystery at Trenton State, NJ. She is the case of the month for August 2014. Sigrid does not have a good web presence and what I found about her case is riddled in disputed facts and fiction. Hers is not a […]
Carmen Melinda Croan, more information
More information about Carmen Melinda Croan came in after I posted her story as Case of the Month for July. A reader emailed me copies of old newspaper articles found on a library fiche. The following is based on those newspaper articles. Most came from the Odessa American, a Freedom Newspaper. Suspected, indicted, and charged […]
The costs of touch DNA testing
What are the costs of touch DNA testing? That is what I asked Jared Bradley, President of M-Vac Systems. For many police departments and for victim family members, this is an area where few straight answers are given hence this guest blog post by Jared. ____________________________________ When More Expensive Costs Less By Jared Bradley, President M-Vac […]
A Case to Watch: Brian Peixoto
A Case to Watch: Brian Peixoto is represented by the CPCS Innocence Program – a Massachusetts program funded by the U.S. Department of Justice to represent innocent people. The purpose of the CPCS Innocence Program is to get exonerations for indigent Massachusetts state defendants who are actually innocent of the crimes of which they have been […]