The New Hampshire Supreme Court has accepted an appeal by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in the case against David McLeod. Prosecutors have until June 15 to file a brief as posted by the Sentinel Source. McLeod is accused of setting fire to a multi-unit apartment building in the early morning hours of January 14, […]
Forensics
The 1975 Scioto River mystery
The 1975 mystery of the unidentified man found in the Scioto River in Chillicothe, Ohio has finally been solved. In 1975, a man’s body was pulled from the Scioto River. He was naked and his ankles were tied with rope. The autopsy showed that the man died by drowning but the tied ankles leave authorities with many questions. […]
Connecticut Appellate Court to review 1987 Bernice Martin murder
“The Appellate Court is scheduled to hear arguments Friday [today] in the appeal of 66-year-old Richard Lapointe, who was convicted of murdering Bernice Martin and sentenced to life in prison. Lapointe insists that DNA evidence shows he’s innocent and that his former lawyers were ineffective.” On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the […]
Los Tocayos Carlos
Los Tocayos Carlos … the namesake Carlos … The Guardian has an excellent article about a Texas capital punishment case involving a wrongful conviction, switched identities, an unsolved murder, evidence not tested for DNA, sloppy police procedures and an execution. “Carlos DeLuna was arrested, aged 20, on 4 February 1983 for the brutal murder of […]
Sentencing in Keith Combs & Eugene Ellis
Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Chavez II, both 36, were found guilty of first-degree murder and special-circumstance allegations including murder during a robbery of Keith Combs & Eugene Ellis. They were teenagers at the time they killed Keith Combs and Eugene “Cliff” Ellis. Elias and Chavez were both sentenced to serve life without the possibility of parole. […]
Elizabeth Heath autopsy details
More details have appeared in the Hartford Courant about Elizabeth Heath‘s violent death. Dr. H. Wayne Carver, the chief state medical examiner, was in charge of Elizabeth’s autopsy. It was not easy for him. Elizabeth’s remains covered 188 separate envelopes. “Gough Heath’s maxilla — the upper jaw — had been traumatically amputated from the skull, the […]
Arrest in cold case Elizabeth Heath
Police have arrested John Heath for murder in connection with the killing of his wife, Elizabeth Heath, 28 years ago. Elizabeth was reported missing in 1984. Her skeletal remains were found beneath the subflooring in a barn in April 2010. Heath, 68, of Bridgewater was arrested by warrant last Monday. He was charged with murder and held […]
Is this the car that killed Karen Caughlin?
A 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, could this be the car that killed Karen Caughlin? The paper Sarnia This Week wants to know. Several people have wondered about this. They remembered that they used to own a car just like that. So they called Crime Stoppers and waited. When nothing happened they went to the authorities. Nothing […]
Zeigler, Part XIX
Zeigler, Part XIX: There is a new and exciting turn of events in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. As loyal readers know, Mr. Zeigler has been on death row for the 1975 quadruple murders that took place on Christmas Eve inside his family’s furniture store in Wintergarden, Florida. When I started my posts about […]
Guest post: Road death investigation by Dave Thomas
Guest post: Road death investigation by Dave Thomas. Dave has been a police officer for 15 years with the last 3 years on road policing. _________________________________________________________ Road death investigation and the importance of forensic evaluation. As a road policing officer based in the United Kingdom, I have seen advances in the last few years in automobile […]