Vanessa Lynn Buss (Dec 1, 1960 – Oct 7, 1985) was shot to death in Houston, Texas. She was twenty-four years old. There is hardly anything online about her murder so it is fitting to make hers the Case of the Month for March 2020. UPDATE: Her brother Rance contacted me and gave his sister’s […]
Case of the Month
Remember Joshua Wayne Crawford
Joshua Wayne Crawford (July 2, 1982 – July 2, 2003) was just 21 years old when his life was cut short. He was found dead inside his apartment at 6949 Exeter Court, Frederick, Maryland. His case remains unsolved. This is the Case of the Month for February 2020. Introduction Joshua was the middle son of […]
Susan Jessica Morey (Aug 13, 1962 – June 18, 1990)
I was browsing through newspapers when I stumbled onto this piece. It is from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri. The date is June 22, 1990. Check this out on page 18: “Murdered Woman Identified: St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said Thursday that a woman found stabbed to death Monday In […]
Janet Eva Roberson Gregston
On August 21, 1984 around 415pm, police found Janet Eva Roberson Gregston (Dec 20, 1955 – Aug 21, 1984) murdered about two miles east of US 385 (Andrews Highway) on the North East Loop 338, Ector County, Texas. She had been stabbed twenty times and her throat was slashed. She was also pregnant. Her case […]
Brenda Jean LaCombe (1962 – 1982)
Brenda Jean LaCombe (19) went missing on May 16, 1982 from Lowell, Massachusetts. Around 1245am on May 16, she left her grandmother’s house in the Francis Gatehouse Mill Apartment Complex, Lowell, Mass. On June 4, 1982, a jogger found her remains behind a stone wall on the side of Littleton County road off Interstate 495 […]
Sherlena Burgess and La Shonia Yvette Austin
Two cousins Sherlena “Penny” Burgess (April 22, 1980 – Sept 14, 2003) and La Shonia “Shon” Yvette Austin (Nov 13, 1978 – Sept 19, 2003) were murdered after a night out on Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee. One of my readers alerted me to this case. There is not much online. That’s why this is the […]
Missing: Linda Ann Miller
Linda Ann Miller (July 3, 1954 – last seen July 1, 1973) was nineteen when she was last seen. Her last known location was San Rafael, California. Whether that was where she lived or where she was born, isn’t clear. UPDATE: one of my readers, you guys really are the best, found that Linda was […]
Who killed Alana Kela?
Alana Kela (? – 1993) was born in Hawaii, USA. I do not have an exact island name or date of birth. She died in 1993 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, from a single gunshot wound to her head. Her murder remains unsolved. This is the Case of the Month for July 2019. […]
Missing: Elijah Gersham Cravens
Elijah Gersham Cravens (possibly Oct 20, 1867 – last seen Jan 1, 1902) from Okmulgee, Oklahoma was last seen on January 1, 1902. Cravens was a farmer who lived outside Okmulgee, OK. When he went missing he was approx. between 30 and 40 years old. There is no official last address on file. Case He […]
Gerard Homer Soules (Aug 3, 1936 – June 4, 1992)
Gerard Homer Soules (Aug 3, 1936 – June 4, 1992) was a famous trapeze artist with Ringling Bros. He performed in the center ring for five years. His last performance was for Queen Elizabeth. His signature move was a forward somersault off the trapeze catching the bar again with his heels. Soules never missed until […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy
Introduction Lately, we have seen numerous cases that were unsolved for decades, where the use of forensic genealogy provided authorities with answers. Checking people’s family trees based on characteristics from the DNA sample on file has given us a string of cases where a suspect has now been identified. The media started to pick up […]
Deborah Ann Danhaus (Oct 4, 1952 – Aug 1971)
We do not know exactly when in August 1971 Deborah Ann Danhaus (18) from Amboy, Illinois was murdered. We do not know why either. All we know is that the case went cold fast. Should any evidence still be in storage, hopefully properly preserved, they should be re-examined with modern technology. When I searched for […]
Christine Ann Diefenbach (May 15, 1973 – Feb 7, 1988)
Christine Ann Diefenbach (May 15, 1973 – Feb 7, 1988) is the Case of the Month for February 2019. Her murder remains unsolved. Introduction It has been 31 years since Christine Ann Diefenbach (14) was murdered in Richmond Hill, Queens County, New York. Christine was a shy, artistic ninth-grader at Intermediate School 217 in Queens County. […]
Sandra Kay Ross (Feb 6, 1952 – missing Jan 8, 1984)
On January 8, 1984 Sandra Kay Ross disappeared from Apex, Wake County, North Carolina. She was 31 years old and the mother of a young daughter. Her case was entered into the NamUs database on July 15, 2009 (#MP2482 link below). There is very little information online about Sandra’s case except for some repeated content. […]
Arrest in 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko
Michelle Martinko was found dead on Dec. 20, 1979. She was repeatedly stabbed most notably in her face and chest. Police discovered her body in the family Buick in the parking lot of the Westdale Mall, Cedar rapids, Iowa. Police said there was no sign of a sexual assault, but she had wounds that indicated […]
Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I
Albino Luciani, known as smiling Pope John Paul I, died on Sept 28, 1978 after a papal reign of only 33 days. He was 65 years old. Lack of clarity The death of Albino Luciani (Oct 17, 1912 – Sept 28, 1978) has long been one of speculation, intrigue, conspiracy, and wild accusations involving the […]
Herman Edward Wilhelm Luhrsen
One of my readers mentioned the unsolved case of Herman Edward Wilhelm Luhrsen (Dec 4, 1886 – Feb 14, 1937). He said it was strange, with multiple angles, and without a good web presence. He kindly summarized the case for me in an email. I got curious and tried to find more articles in the public […]
Johnny Rush Bowman (Sept 15, 1952 – Aug 19, 1984)
Virginia State Trooper Johnny Rush Bowman (Sept 15, 1952 – Aug 19, 1984) was stabbed 45 times by an unknown attacker (or attackers) on Aug. 19, 1984, around 415 am after answering the door at his own home in Manassas, Virginia. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest […]
1915 Colton John Doe
An unknown man I call the “1915 Colton John Doe” was found hanging from a willow tree in the Santa Ana river bottom, 2 miles southwest of Colton, San Bernardino County, California. Suicide, no identification. When I read that this unidentified man picked a willow tree to commit suicide the symbolism ran wild in my […]
The 1953 Murders of Gail and Paul Schultz
Gail Lee Schultz and Paul G. Schultz Jr., two siblings, were murdered on March 7, 1953. They were bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument. Their cases are officially labelled cold by the authorities. The chance that we will ever find out who killed Gail and Paul Schultz and why they had to die, are very […]