One Investigating Judge was already appointed to the case of Robert Boulin, who was Minister of labor under Valéry Giscard d’Estain. The request Boulin was found dead in 1979 under suspicious circumstances. Boulin’s daughter Fabienne has long pressed for a second investigating judge to be appointed to investigate her father’s death. The request for a […]
Autopsy
Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis
WARNING: this post has crime scene and autopsy photography from both Keith Combs and Eugene Ellis. Introduction On the morning of Sept. 25, 1993, people riding off-the-road motorcycles found the bodies of Keith Edmond Combs (Aug 20, 1970 – Sept 25, 1993) and Eugene Clifford “Cliff” Ellis (June 21, 1973 – Sept 25, 1993). They […]
The Boulin case is reopened
The Boulin case is reopened by the French prosecution and can have significant consequences for some politicians. The Telegraph reports that “the family’s lawyer, Marie Dosé, said new evidence had emerged indicating that Boulin, a decorated veteran of the French Resistance during the Second World War, was kidnapped on the night of his death at the […]
Lapointe’s wrongful conviction
Lapointe’s wrongful conviction brings back Martin’s cold case because if we take Lapointe out of the equation we are left with no answers. Who killed Bernice Martin? The decision The decision to grant a new trial is here (RICHARD LAPOINTE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION). A few quotes: “On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly rejected his […]
Case of the Month: 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 […]
Last chance: Robert Boulin
Last chance: Robert Boulin was either murdered in 1979 or he committed suicide. We might be able to find out a little more soon. Thanks to one of my readers I got the link to this article from Les Inrocks. It is in French but you can use Google translate. One quote: “2015 will be a […]
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction has been part of my life since 1993 when I started working for Amnesty International in Switzerland. I am appalled that the injustice endures. In December 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store in Wintergarden, Florida. The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry […]
Jacobs not guilty of Blakelock murder
Nicholas Jacobs was found not guilty of the Blakelock murder during the 1985 Broadwater Farm Riots. From the Huffington Post: “Nicky Jacobs, who was 16 at the time, went on trial at the Old Bailey accused of being one of the rioters who together stabbed the officer more than 40 times and tried to decapitate him. There […]
The Grahlman murders
The Case of the Month for April 2014: the Grahlman murders from April 5, 2003. I read about the Grahlman arson/double homicide case on Jody Ewing’s Iowa Cold Cases. Please read the circumstances of the crime there. No need to repeat Jody here. After I read the overview, many questions popped up in my mind and […]
Suspect in Branagan cold case
When I checked StatCounter I saw that many people had look up the Moira Holly Branagan case. I asked on Twitter whether there was anything new I might have missed … and YES! An article came up in Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper on Sunday. Hat Tip to @deathunderglass! “For the first time since Holly Branagan‘s murder 35 […]
Help needed in Karen Caughlin case
OPP seeks help in 1974 cold case of Karen Caughlin as her death nears the 40th anniversary on March 16th. From CBC News: “Ontario Provincial Police hope a new appeal to the public will help reinvigorate an investigation into a four-decade-old homicide. Police on Thursday released a seven-minute video detailing the events of the day Karen Caughlin […]
Case of the Month: Paula Oberbroeckling
Case of the Month: Paula Oberbroeckling (Feb 25, 1952 – July 11, 1970). Paula disappeared on July 11, 1970, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was 18 years old and dreamed of becoming a model. She had borrowed her roommate’s car to go off on an unspecified errand. Her roommate’s car was found parked in a no parking zone […]
Sum it Up! #48
Sum it Up! #48 is an eclectic batch of cowboys, cases and conferences that you may wish to put on your calendar. Markus Schantz left the legal profession. His blog “Chicago Criminal Defense” has excellent posts about law and a cold case. Markus has embarked on a multi-pronged career. He is writing and works as a […]
Trial starts in the Hina Family Murders
Trial starts in the Hina Family Murders today. The Hina Family was killed during a 1989 fatal fire at a Keene apartment complex, New Hampshire. From the SFGate: “David McLeod has pleaded not guilty to four counts of second-degree murder. He is accused of igniting a blaze in a drug-fueled rage on Jan. 14, 1989, […]
Case of the Month: Josephine Backshall
Case of the Month: Josephine Backshall (39) who was last seen at about 6pm on Tuesday October 29, 1974, when she left her home to keep an appointment in Witham, Essex, UK. She was found dead Nov 1, 1974. Today marks the 39th anniversary of her unsolved murder. Josephine Backshall left three children: Christopher, Sarah, and Emma. Her […]
Jury finds John Heath guilty
Jury finds John Heath guilty for the murder of Elizabeth Gough-Heath. From the CTPost: “The jury’s verdict was returned just over an hour after they re-heard a surreptitiously recorded interview in which Heath made denigrating comments to police about his wife’s fitness as a mother, as well as other statements that just didn’t ring true […]
M-Vac helps solve Beslanowitch case
The M-Vac System made the difference in the Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch case. In 1995, Krystal’s nude body was found lying face down on the rocks, bloody and broken, on the banks of the Provo River, Utah. She was just 17 years old. Parts of the large, granite rocks were saved as evidence as well as scrapings from under Beslanowitch’s fingernails. […]
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin. On March 8, 1987, fire fighters found Mrs. Bernice Martin inside the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. She had been brutally beaten and passed away that same night in the hospital. The fire department found her front door locked but the glass sliding door in the back open. The […]
Alfred Moore; first impressions
As you know, Pam alerted me to the Alfred Moore campaign to have this case, a wrongful conviction, examined again. I have done some checking on the web, found the eBook by Steve Lawson, and have started mulling this case over. Those familiar with my blog know that my first take on a case usually […]
CT Supreme Court hears Lapointe case Sept 17, 2013
CT Supreme Court hears Lapointe case Sept 17, 2013. This fantastic news came from the Bellingham Herald. Almost a year ago, I posted that Richard Lapointe was going to get a new trial. In a stunning decision, the state Appellate Court Monday ordered a new trial for Richard Lapointe, a mentally disabled dishwasher convicted of […]