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 […]
Forensics
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 […]