In July 1980, William Cooke (49) was found stabbed to death in the Ramada Inn, Lafayette, Indiana. Police took an ashtray with a cigarette butt with them as evidence. In 1980, DNA testing was unavailable. Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Steve Kohne said that the case went cold a few days after the murder. He even […]
Forensics
Update Willeke Dost
Thanks to Jacques and others in the Netherlands, we have a translation in English from a clip shown in the Netherlands about the Willeke Dost case. Some scenes are reconstructions but the people who speak in front of the camera, are all related to Willeke Dost Jacques put together a brief overview of the people […]
The Skinner jury: what we know now…
If they knew then what we know now…read about the thoughts and feelings of the original Skinner jury! “In light of new developments that have surfaced in the 15 years since Skinner’s trial, several of the original jurors are no longer sure of his guilt. Five say they might have had reasonable doubt at the […]
Finland: DNA v. Fingerprint Analysis
The crime laboratory of the National Bureau of Investigation in Finland is examining DNA samples about twice as often as it resorts to fingerprint analysis. Last year the NBI crime laboratory examined 6,000 DNA samples. In the same period of time, the laboratory analysed 3,000 fingerprints. Finland is actively sharing its database with neighbouring countries […]
Different angles: Branagan Case
Different angles in the Branagan Case: I have been musing with my friends on Twitter about some of the cold cases on DCC and good remarks have led me to rethink some cases, go back over details, check where I might have missed something, or where I assumed something was clear while it only was […]
Arrest in 1984 murders of Buckels and McMahan
Thanks to DNA we now have an arrest in the 1984 murders of Buckels and McMahan. Seldon Wayne Colvin (58) was arrested for the murders of John Robert Buckels (38)and Janis Petkas McMahan (37). On Sept 28, 1984, the badly decomposed bodies of Buckels and McMahan, both of Houston (Texas), were found along Old Highway […]
Update Waldo Rapist/Bernard Jackson
Bernard Jackson was arraigned Wednesday June 2, 2010, on 18 felonies stemming from four Waldo-area sexual assaults in the 1980s. Assistant Public Defender Carie Allen entered not-guilty pleas on Jackson’s behalf during the brief appearance before Judge Brent Powell. His next court appearance was scheduled for June 22, 2010. Police are continuing to investigate the […]
Zeigler, Part X
By request, the DNA report that exonerates Zeigler. In Dec 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store (Winter Garden, Florida). The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry Edwards, and their daughter Eunice Edwards-Zeigler. The fifth victim, William Thomas Zeigler, became the sole suspect because he survived. The case is riddled […]
DNA upon conviction
New York Governor David Paterson announced that he is submitting DNA legislation that will require everyone convicted of a penal law crime to provide a sample. Currently, New York state only requires DNA collection after a judge convicts a suspect of any felony crime or 18 specified misdemeanors. Once the sample is collected, the information […]
Update Elizabeth Heath
Nearly three weeks since Elizabeth Heath‘s remains were found, the medical examiner still has not identified the cause of death, police said. “They’re still doing forensic testing,” Police Chief Michael Kehoe said of staff at the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Kehoe said the medical examiner’s office has more work to do before […]