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You are here: Home / Forensics / Daniel Dougherty: third trial

Daniel Dougherty: third trial

March 27, 2019 By Alice

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Photograph AdS

On March 27, 2019, the third trial started for Daniel Dougherty.

In 2000, Daniel Dougherty was found guilty of the 1985 arson that killed his two sons, Danny (4) and Johnny (3). Police arrested Dougherty in 1999 after his estranged wife and mother of the two children claimed he had confessed.

A jury found him guilty on capital murder charges in 2000. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed Dougherty’s death sentences in 2004.

In 2005, Dougherty filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court. Certiorari was denied the same year. Dougherty is an inmate of the State Correctional Institution at Greene.

A Superior Court overturned both of Dougherty’s convictions, deeming his earlier trials unfair. The third trial will be overseen by J. Scott O’Keefe, who was reversed by the appellate court in the second trial.

At the second trial, John Lentini and Angelo Pisani(two of America’s best known arson investigators) said that fires once were considered arson are now known to be caused by “flashover,” a condition that mimics arson. They explained that the cause of the 1985 fire should have been listed as “undetermined.”

John Lentini and Angelo Pisani separately reviewed the Dougherty case. Neither found signs of arson. In their 2005 report, they emphasized the use of outdated fire investigation techniques in 1985. Then-fire Marshall Quinn thought that there were three fires: near the sofa, one near a love seat, and the third one under a dining room table. Somehow he concluded that only one person could have set those three fires. I do not know why.

In 2017, the appellate court said that among other errors, the judge should not have allowed Quinn’s testimony to be read into the record.

This is a case to watch.

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Filed Under: Forensics Tagged With: Daniel Dougherty, Forensic arson detection, Pennsylvania, Wrongful Convictions

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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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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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