On Feb 15, 2019 Alaska State Troopers made an arrest in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie. “Steven H. Downs, 44, of Auburn, Maine, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder in the death of 20-year-old Sergie, the state troopers said in a news conference in Anchorage Friday. Downs was employed as a […]
Forensics
Michelle Martinko: background information
Jerry Lynn Burns is facing first-degree murder charges for the Dec 20, 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. He is held at the Linn County Jail (Iowa). Burns Burns has his own company Advanced Coating Concepts in Delaware County, Iowa. It is a powder-coating shop but they are also a Hustler turf equipment dealer. Burns was […]
Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis
WARNING: this post has crime scene and autopsy photography from both Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis. Introduction On the morning of Sept. 25, 1993, people riding off-the-road motorcycles found the bodies of Keith Edmond Combs (Aug 20, 1970 – Sept 25, 1993) and Eugene Clifford “Cliff” Ellis (June 21, 1973 – Sept 25, 1993). They […]
Break in 1984 Colorado Hammer Murders
Alexander Christopher Ewing (57) is accused of using a hammer to kill Bruce, Debra, and Melissa Bennett and Patricia Smith. He faces charges for six counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of sexual assault on a child, burglary and five counts of committing a violent crime for the January 1984 killings of Bruce […]
Cold cases and the M-Vac
Please welcome back guest blogger Jared Bradley. Jared will give us an overview of exciting developments in the field of cold cases and the M-Vac. _________________________________ Guest blogging is always full of pressure, but writing for Alice’s Defrosting Cold Cases takes it to a whole new level. Like all of you, I thoroughly enjoy reading […]
Beaumont Children: New Leads, New Frustrations
Please welcome guest blogger Stephen Richey who will give us insight in the latest developments in the case of the missing Beaumont Children. ____________________ In an early blog post, Alice mentioned that ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate an “anomaly” at a site where a tip suggested the children were buried. Some latched on to […]
New trial for Daniel Dougherty
On October 31, the Pennsylvania Superior Court gave Daniel Dougherty what he has coveted: a new trial. For the third time. The defense and appellate courts agreed: Daniel Dougherty had two unfair trials. The three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that Dougherty should get a new trial. They cited three crucial errors the […]
In Loving Memory: Patricia Louise Smith
Patricia Louise Smith would be 84 years old today. She was born on September 19, 1933. Her life was ended Jan 10, 1984 by an unknown person who raped and murdered her inside her own home. Patricia’s murder is connected to a string of hammer murders in Aurora, Colorado. DNA Unfortunately, having DNA has not advanced […]
Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies
Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death explores the surprising intersection between craft and forensic science. Frances Glessner Lee (1878-1962) made the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” in exquisitely detailed miniature crime scenes to train homicide investigators. In a nutshell: “to convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and […]
Greece Police Cold Cases
The Greece Police of New York needs the public’s help in two cold cases. 1. The 1976 Unknown Boy On March 9, 1976, the skeletal remains of a young child were found inside a blue metal storage trunk. The trunk was in the basement of an apartment complex in Greece, NY. Greece is a neighborhood […]
Digital Forensics
I met Erin Wimpy and Robert Price at CrimeCon. Their sessions about digital forensics were informative and interactive. Digital Forensics On television, everything looks so simple. However, digital forensics is a discipline. It requires a unique combination of skill and care to conduct a successful investigation. The presentation Erin and Robert made allowed participants to […]
Kylie Maybury: DNA evidence
The case of Kylie Maybury is finally making progress: DNA confirmed that the semen found in this six-year-old little girl belongs to Gregory Keith Davies. Kylie Maria Antonia Maybury (October 24, 1978 – Nov 6, 1984) died of asphyxiation/suffocation (depriving of oxygen by obstructing the airways for example by choking or by pushing a pillow over […]
Suspect composite in case of Michelle Martinko
The Cedar Rapids Police Department can now show the public the suspect composite in the cold case of Michelle Martinko (18) who was murdered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 19, 1979. Michelle Martinko was found dead around 4am on Dec. 20, 1979. She was repeatedly stabbed most notably in her face and chest. Police […]
Elodie Kulik and familial DNA
In the night from January 10 to 11, 2002, Elodie Kulik (24) was murdered. She was kidnapped and raped. Her body was set on fire. Her remains were left in a farmer’s field. Her attacker(s) tried to burn anything that could identify them but they didn’t succeed. The authorities found Elodie’s red Peugeot less than a mile […]
The cold case of Bernard Oliver (1950 – Jan 1967)
The Bernard Oliver case is known as the Tattingstone Suitcase Murder. Suffolk Police is reaching out again to the public for help. No one was ever charged for this murder. Bernard went missing January 6, 1967. He had not come home from an evening out with friends. His dad reported him missing the next day. […]
Phenotyping and Cold Cases
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Tom Shaw. He is an IAI Certified Forensic Artist & Snapshot Account Specialist at Parabon NanoLabs in Reston, Virginia. We started talking about phenotyping and how that could advance the investigations in cold cases. There are cases that grow cold because there is no DNA match […]
Adam Gray denied new trial
From the Chicago Tribune: “Judge Angela Petrone remained unconvinced that lawyers for Adam Gray had produced enough evidence for a jury to acquit him at a new trial.” Adam Gray’s file was examined by arson experts John Lentini and Gerald Hurst. “At trial, prosecutors focused on two elements — the evidence that the fire had […]
M-Vac secures conviction in Krystal Beslanowitch case
The M-Vac System has secured a conviction in the 1995 cold case of Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch. From KSL: “After about four hours of deliberation, jurors found Joseph Michael Simpson, 49, guilty of aggravated murder Thursday in the 1995 death of Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch. The teenager who had been living in Salt Lake City was found […]
Jury selection in Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch case
Jury selection has started in the 1995 Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch murder case. Krystal’s nude body was found lying face down on the rocky bank of the Provo River, Utah. She was just 17 years old. Aside from fingernail scrapings, parts of the large, granite rocks were saved as evidence. How important was it to save those rocks? Crucial. M-Vac […]
Opening up the Valerie Percy files
From the Chicago Tribune: Last “Wednesday, a Cook County judge ordered Kenilworth officials to hand over some of the paperwork so she can determine whether the voluminous case file should be allowed to remain under wraps as the murder mystery enters its sixth decade.” Authorities now have a seven-day deadline to explain why they fear […]