Can we base a conviction on one palm print? In August of 1984, a double sexual assault took place in West Norwood, south London, UK. A teenager assaulted a woman in her home and forced her flatmate to join in the abuse. The teenager wore a balaclava and used an iron bar to force the woman […]
Forensics
Willeke Dost: search continues
The search for Willeke Dost will continue. Police will start digging into an area behind the farm however, they are tight lipped and will not indicate when or why exactly that spot has been chosen to search for possible remains. Willeke Dost was only 15 years old when she went missing. Now, she is presumed […]
Suspect: Antwan Maurice Pittman
In my post “Missing in small towns” I wrote about women who disappeared and were later found murdered. The cases were from North Carolina and Louisiana. I am more than pleased to be able to update you now on the North Carolina cases: Investigators in North Carolina have reason to believe that Antwan Maurice Pittman […]
Zeigler, Part XIII the crime scene
Zeigler, Part XIII WARNING: this post contains graphic crime scene photography. They are not included to sensationalize the case but because they tell a story. View at your own risk. ________________________________________________________________ Zeigler’s first trial attorney Ralph “Terry” Hadley III had suggested that the motive for these murders was not robbery or insurance money as the […]
Daniel Dougherty and Forensic Arson Detection
Daniel Dougherty was found guilty of deliberately igniting fires in his home that killed his two sons, Danny(4) and Johnny(3) in 1985. Police arrested Dougherty 14 years later, when his estranged wife came forward and claimed he confessed. A jury found him guilty on capital murder charges in 2000. He is awaiting his execution. His case […]
DNA in four hours
Forensic scientists have developed a test that can match a suspect’s DNA to crime scene samples in just four hours. The new technique could greatly speed up forensic testing, making the process almost as easy as matching fingerprints. Police could check whether a suspect’s DNA matches profiles in a database before a decision is taken […]
Why deny DNA testing?
“I can think of no good argument why anyone would be denied DNA testing” Prosecutors have opposed testing, and judges have refused it, but Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Attorney General Richard Cordray wrote today to prosecutors in seven criminal cases urging them to allow DNA testing that could confirm guilt or prove innocence. The […]
Michael Green freed by DNA after 27 years!
Michael Green was convicted of rape in 1983 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. But last Wednesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas announced that new DNA testing proved that Green was not involved in the assault. Green said he can’t help but be angry about the time that he lost. The process Green […]
Political meddling and apathy in Willingham case
Political meddling and apathy in Willingham case has me despondent. A Texas state board said last Friday that arson investigators in the Willingham case used flawed science but were not negligent in an investigation that led to a controversial 2004 execution. The panel also said that investigators did not commit misconduct. Cameron Todd Willingham was […]
The 2004 Willingham execution
Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for a fire that killed his three daughters. Prosecutors argued that Willingham deliberately set the 1991 blaze — but three reviews of the evidence by outside experts have found the fire should not have been ruled arson. The last of those reports was ordered by the Texas Forensic […]