William Arthur Haynor‘s daughter was just nine years old when her dad was shot in his chest with 5 bullets from a .22 caliber pistol. His granddaughter is wondering if, with modern technology and the power of the Internet, there is anything that we can do to raise awareness that her granddad’s murder was never […]
Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 4
On Friday, Feb 5, the evidence hearings in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie continued. Gun Steven H. Downs’ former girlfriend Katherine deSchweinitz Lee testified through videoconference in court: according to her Steve did not own a gun during the years they dated at Alaska State University (ASU) and they dated for about 4 years. […]
Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 3
The defense team of Steven H. Downs led by Attorney James Howaniec, filed 11 motions in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie. I previously wrote nine motions so this is a correction. All the hearings did start on Feb 1, 2021, a delay from April 2020 due to the pandemic. Two things dominated this day: […]
Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 2
The case against Steven H. Downs in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie may not be as airtight as the authorities had hoped. They had to admit that they made mistakes. The mistakes affect the search warrants that were used at Downs’ home to find a gun and the cheek swab to collect DNA for […]
Sophie Sergie: evidence hearing
Yesterday, an evidence hearing took place in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Crime Steven H. Downs (now 46) faces two felony counts for Sophie’s murder. According to the authorities, Sophie was shot in the back of her head with a .22-caliber gun. Police found such a caliber gun in Downs’ […]
The Unclaimed
Introduction One day, we all pass away. Most of us prepare for that moment. We do not wish to burden our loved ones and friends with costs when they take care of our remains. We get life insurances, some look into buying burial plots, and others make an extensive inventory of items and bequests to […]
Otha Liggins III (1971 – 1999)
Otha Liggins III (Dec 17, 1971 – June 13, 1999) was shot to death around 5am on June 13, 1999, near the Club Casino, East St. Louis, Missouri. He died from one single gunshot to his chest. The motive was robbery. Stolen from Otha were: his golden necklace with a diamond medallion pendant that spelled […]
What we lost
At the beginning of 2021, the first post in the series Case of the Month should be dedicated to what and who we lost. We lost too many people in 2020, yes. But we also lost our routines. We lost some insight in each other. And, we lost patience. The year 2020 was so unique, […]
The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 2
In March 2019, I wrote about the Ethics in Forensic Genealogy. I indicated that while there was room for joy, because we would be able to solve old crimes, that there was also room for concern. In part 2, I’d like to highlight some of those concerns. Forensic Genealogy is not just instrumental in catching […]
Once Two Sister by Sarah Warburton
‘Once Two Sister’ by Sarah Warburton is a fast-paced book. I read it in two sittings and the author kept me on my toes. The book centers on, of course, two sisters. Zoe and Ava Hallett grew up despite their clinically distant and robotic scientist parents. Nancy and Walter Hallett are so focused on their […]