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You are here: Home / Unsolved / Sum it Up! #42

Sum it Up! #42

September 9, 2013 By Alice

grass lawn cut into a maze like puzzle patternThis Sum it Up was about great blog posts. Paul Cutler‘s “A Barrister’s Blog” got voted most favourite Australian legal blog on the blog from the Separovic Injury Lawyers. Congrats to Paul!

Suzie Ivie had an interesting MJ weekend and I do not mean that’s she was moonwalking her thriller beat. No, she was at a convention in Las Vegas. And if it happens in Vegas it gets posted on Suzie’s blog. Think about that one next time Suzie asks you if you want to tag along.

The Writing PIs had an interesting blog post. They answered some author questions. This one I really like.

“WRITER’S  QUESTION: In the case where Shaun found the .44 casing … did he leave it alone and call the police so they could photograph it in place? Or did he take pictures of it and put it in a bag and take it to the police? What happened?”

ANSWER: “Shaun would not have touched it!” Read on to see the rest of their answer.

I checked Jody Ewing‘s excellent blog “Iowa Cold Cases” and got stuck in a cold case from 1847. Yes, you read that correct. No typo here. Nathaniel Carnagy moved to Marion late in 1846. In early 1847, he was murdered. Nathaniel Carnagy will forever be known as Linn County’s first murder victim.

I quote: “According to one written account, on March 20, 1847, a man by the name of James Reed had spent much of his day drinking heavily. He came upon Carnagy and remembered that Carnagy owed him some money (whether he did or not is unknown). It was a feud that had gone on for some time, and Reed, having grown quarrelsome, “indulged in abusive language.” When Carnagy retired to a tavern – most likely just north of today’s Marion Square park, or possibly to the west – Reed followed and clubbed him over the head several times with a chunk of wood. Carnagy died of the injuries several weeks later, on April 3.

This was the “old days” of Marion, with a population of about 400 people. But there was an attempt to apply justice. Not only did Linn County have its first official murder, it had its first murder trial. Reed was arrested and, at the June term of the county court, indicted. A trial was postponed until the following April, however. At that time, a jury of his peers – all men selected off the street – declared Reed not guilty. When Carnagy died in 1847, he was 36. He left his wife, Elizabeth, and, at least two sons.”

Read what happened to James Reed on Jody’s blog.

Emily Webb a.k.a. the True Crime Reader discussed Justine Ford‘s book “One Piece of the Puzzle” on her blog. According to Emily, this book discusses a variety of cases. I appreciate very much the inclusion of not well-known cases. That makes this book one I wish to put on my reading list.

fire fightersLast for this Sum it Up: Andrew Wade alerted me to an interesting article about Fire Risk Assessment. Andrew has been a guest in my #CrimeChats. The article on the website Code Red Fire Safety gives an important overview of what risk assessment is when it comes to fire. I quote pieces to illustrate this: “One further complication is that many people confuse ‘hazard’ with ‘risk’ and often use the terms interchangeably. Any given ‘hazard’ may come with certain ‘risks’ attached, but now we must look at the likelihood of an event which will give rise to the ‘risk’ becoming a threat. 

In identifying the Fire Hazards the two key components are the fuels and the ignition sources.

flamesMost office workers will not readily identify their chairs, files and papers pinned to dividers as ‘fuels’ and potentially dangerous, but they would probably identify the computer and several other electrical appliances as ‘fire hazards’ if asked. The truth is that the files, loose papers, books and other paraphernalia in their offices or cubicles are more likely to be the ‘first fuel’ than anything else.

In a fire test conducted for another chain, it had been shown that the greatest fire hazard in any such store was the crisp displays.”

Read the article to learn about the three basic conditions for a fire, what will burn and, what might cause something to ignite. Thanks for the tip, Andrew. His company website is here.

Till the next Sum it Up!

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: #crimechat, Andrew Wade, Emily Webb, fire risk assessment, Iowa Cold Cases, Jody Ewing, Nathaniel Carnagy, Paul Cutler, Sum it Up!, Suzie Ivy, The Writing PIs

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Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved 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, tone, and research. It is my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler
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