He spent half of his life in prison for a rape and robbery he did not commit. But last Friday, at the age of 39, Allen Porter is finally a free man. Porter’s case stemmed from a robbery and sexual assault at an apartment in southwest Houston on June 18, 1990. Three masked robbers burst […]
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 […]
Amber Nicklas back in Foster Care
Amber Nicklas has learned her true name and is being given therapy to cope with the trauma of leaving the only family she remembers, an investigator said Monday. Amber was placed with an undisclosed California foster family until authorities can decide where she finally will live, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Patrick Maxwell said. He had no immediate […]
Lapointe hearings resume Aug 2010
Questions about how long a fire burned at Mrs. Martin’s apartment and possibly tainted DNA evidence on a pair of gloves found at the crime scene were brought up last Thursday during a hearing for Richard Lapointe. Mrs. Bernice Martin was raped, stabbed and strangled in her apartment in Manchester on March 8, 1987. Lapointe was convicted […]
More details in Amber Rose Nicklas Case
More details are now available in the missing person case of Amber Rose Nicklas, the little girl who was abducted from California when she was just one year old and who resurfaced in Phoenix, AZ. The family who raised her as their own are now fighting for legal custody. They claim that they had no idea that the baby […]
Medici Cold Case Solved
Scientists who exhumed the remains of several members of the Medici Family who dominated the Florentine Renaissance, have conclusively dismissed the theory of family murders, solving a more than 400-year-old cold case. Malaria, not poison as long rumored, killed Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his second wife, Bianca Cappello, according to research […]
Update Amber Nicklas Case
Amber Nicklas remains in protective custody in Los Angeles and it was not clear if she will be reunited with her foster parents. Authorities have not released any names or filed any charges but continue to investigate. “This girl was taken away from the only parents and family that she knows yesterday,” said Phoenix police […]
Michael VonAllmen: Cleared after 30 years
Cleared after 30 years in Louisville, KY: After 11 years in prison before being paroled in 1994 for being convicted of rape and other charges in 1982, Michael VonAllmen’s record is now clear. On July 15, 2010, a judge finally ruled to dismiss all charges with prejudice, which means the charges can never be brought back. […]
Five men now charged in connection with Mike Silcock’s death
Updates in the case of Mike Silcock: Thomas Joyce and Darren Hamilton have both been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud. They are due before the Stockport Magistrates Court on Friday, July 23, 2010, along with Jake Hayes and Nathan Benson who were earlier charged with conspiracy to commit fraud. Stephen Benson of no fixed abode was earlier charged with causing […]