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Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

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Solved

Case of the Month: Jackie Johns

March 1, 2015 By Alice

Jackie Johns

Case of the Month: Jackie Johns (20) was last seen alive on June 17, 1985. The next day, her sports car was found abandoned. The backseat was covered in blood as were the clothing police found there (a top, jeans, and underwear all soaked in blood). On June 22, 1985, Jackie’s nude body was pulled from […]

Filed Under: Case of the Month, Solved Tagged With: Autopsy, Case of the Month, Crime Scene, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Jackie Johns, Missouri

Guilty verdict in Guitron murder

July 3, 2012 By Alice

Ryan Eugene Guitron

The trial against Vencil Ash III in the cold case of Ryan Guitron started June 25 and wrapped up on July 2 with closing arguments. The jury deliberated for six hours. Ash was found guilty of murder in the first-degree. “Ash is scheduled to appear again in Kimball County Court on Aug. 21 for sentencing in the […]

Filed Under: Solved Tagged With: Autopsy, Dental Records, DNA, Gun Fire, Identification, Missing Person, Nebraska, Ryan Eugene Guitron

Sentencing in Keith Combs & Eugene Ellis

May 11, 2012 By Alice

Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis

Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Chavez II, both 36, were found guilty of first-degree murder and special-circumstance allegations including murder during a robbery of Keith Combs & Eugene Ellis. They were teenagers at the time they killed Keith Combs and Eugene “Cliff” Ellis. Elias and Chavez were both sentenced to serve life without the possibility of parole. […]

Filed Under: Forensics, Solved Tagged With: Autopsy, Ballistics, California, Crime Scene, DNA, Eugene Ellis, Forensics, Keith Combs, Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis, Unsolved Homicide

Verdict in the Combs and Ellis murder trial

March 26, 2012 By Alice

Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis

A verdict has been reached in the Combs and Ellis trial. Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Castro Chavez II were accused of robbing and fatally shooting Combs and Ellis, two San Diego-based sailors. Though detectives who documented the murder scene recovered fingerprints and genetic evidence apparently belonging to the killer(s), the original investigation yielded no […]

Filed Under: Solved Tagged With: Autopsy, Ballistics, California, Crime Scene, DNA, Eugene Ellis, Forensics, Keith Combs, Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis, Unsolved Homicide

Trial for Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis

March 14, 2012 By Alice

Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis

The long awaited trial in the cases of Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis has started. “Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Castro Chavez II, both 36, are each charged with two counts of murder in the Sept. 25, 1993, deaths of 20-year-old Eugene “Cliff” Ellis and 23-year-old Keith Combs. The victims were stationed aboard the aircraft […]

Filed Under: Cold Case News, Solved, Unsolved Tagged With: Autopsy, Ballistics, California, Crime Scene, DNA, Eugene Ellis, Forensics, Keith Combs, Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis, Unsolved Homicide

“Someone’s Daughter” by Silvia Pettem

January 2, 2012 By Alice

“Someone’s Daughter” by Silvia Pettem. The author contacted me last year to tell me about the book she was working on. While discussing “Cold Case Research” she hinted at another book she had written in 2009. If I wanted it, she’d send me a copy. She wrote that her heart was in that book. And it showed. […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Cold Case News, Forensics, Solved Tagged With: Book Reviews, Boulder Jane Doe, Colorado, DNA, Exhumation, Silvia Pettem

Guest Post: “There are monsters that walk among us”

October 19, 2011 By Alice

Guest Post: “There are monsters that walk among us” by Darren Bruce. Darren is a married father of three and has been a police officer for seventeen years. “I am a Detective Sergeant who has taken on various roles and am soon to undertake a change to run a Serious Sexual Offences Investigation Team. Over the years […]

Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics, Guest Bloggers, Missing Persons, Solved, Unidentified, Unsolved Tagged With: Autopsy, Crime Scene, Cruelty, DNA, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Missing Person, Peter Tobin, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses

Adam has been identified

September 27, 2011 By Alice

Torso "Adam" BBC

“The five-year-old’s identity has remained a mystery after he was smuggled into Britain and murdered in a voodoo-style ritual killing. He was drugged with a ‘black-magic’ potion and sacrificed before being thrown into the Thames, where his torso washed up next to the Globe Theatre in September 2001.  Detailed analysis of a substance in the boy’s […]

Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics, Solved Tagged With: Adam, Autopsy, Child Abuse, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, UK, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

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Dina Fort

Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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