Peter M. Klismet’s book FBI DIARY: home grown terror starts in Colorado. On May 29, 1998 Cortez police officer Dale Dewain Claxton was filling in for another patrolman. They’d traded days so each could attend to personal affairs. It wasn’t anything unusual to do. This was done to help out a fellow officer and was quite routine. The story […]
Orange County Jane Doe
Warning: there are two graphic images below! UPDATE July 2020: IDENTIFIED The Orange County Jane Doe is identified as Anita Louise Piteau. On Wednesday, July 22, the authorities announced that they believe Anita was killed by Johnny Chrisco. Unfortunately, Chrisco passed away in 2015. He was 71 years old. Little is known about him, said Huntington […]
Nie Shubin exonerated 21 years after his execution
From KFDR: “China’s top court overturned Nie Shubin’s conviction Friday, in a landmark case that exposed deep flaws in China’s criminal justice system.” Nie Shubin was executed by firing squad in 1995 without notifying his parents. He was just 20 years old and had been detained for seven months. Nie Shubin was found guilty of the 1994 […]
The Cold Case of Thomas Chan
This year is the 15th anniversary of Thomas Chan’s murder. There is hardly anything online about this case that why we made it the Case of the Month for December 2016. On December 14, 2001 Thomas Chan (July 11, 1965 – Dec 14, 2001) was killed. Thomas was a computer expert engaged to be married. He was […]
ABA Top 100 Blawgs 2016
Editors of the ABA Journal announced today they have again selected Defrosting Cold Cases as one of the top 100 best blogs for a legal audience. “For 10 years, the Blawg 100 has helped shine a light on the stunning breadth of legal topics and voices to found in the legal blogosphere,” Acting Editor-Publisher Molly […]
Peter Morrone, the Pope who quit
Peter Morrone (1215 – 1296), the Pope who quit, is better known as Pope Celestine V. The book by Jon Sweeney presents us with three powerful men. All skilled and stubborn. We discover how Peter Morrone’s life became entangled with Charles II of Anjou, the King of Naples. The other of course, was Cardinal Benedict […]
The blood on my hands by Shannon O’Leary
“I used pseudonyms in the book in order to protect my family. He was never charged despite the police knowing about his activity. The police investigations were case files and are not available to the public. People outside Australia would not be aware that many of the missing person files in NSW in the 1960s […]
Adam Gray denied new trial
From the Chicago Tribune: “Judge Angela Petrone remained unconvinced that lawyers for Adam Gray had produced enough evidence for a jury to acquit him at a new trial.” Adam Gray’s file was examined by arson experts John Lentini and Gerald Hurst. “At trial, prosecutors focused on two elements — the evidence that the fire had […]
Remembering Larry Anstett
Imagine it is 1974. A young Milwaukee Sentinel newspaper delivery boy is on his rounds through the neighborhoods of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His name is Larry Anstett and he is in grade nine at Wilbur Wright Junior High School. He is 15 years old, and far too young to die. But he did on November 5th. […]
What happened to Amos Mortier?
“How thoroughly did Fitchburg police investigate an allegation that a Madison man confessed to stabbing Amos Mortier and feeding his body to pigs?” That’s quite an opening for a newspaper article. Your thoughts immediately bring up images of a conspiracy, people disappearing, smaller fish taking the heat for the impossible to catch bigger fish, possible […]