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Defrosting Cold Cases

Est. 2009

  • Cold Case Database: Index and Summaries
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You are here: Home / Archives for California

California

Remembering Michael Wade Glover

April 15, 2016 By Alice

Michael Wade Glover and Family courtesy Jennifer Glover

Remembering Michael Wade Glover (Aug 24, 1955 – September, 1976) isn’t easy if you were an infant when he died. Jennifer Glover is in that situation. Her father’s homicide is unsolved. Michael has no web presence and his case is not listed on the Monterey Police Department’s cold cases page. They do actively look at cold cases. Jennifer […]

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: California, Michael Wade Glover

Case of the Month: Tracy Lynn Davenport

June 1, 2015 By Alice

Tracy Lynn Davenport missing child ad, Photography AdS

Case of the Month: Tracy Lynn Davenport (March 19, 1967 – April 27, 1973 date missing). This cold case caught my daughter’s eye when she was going through the papers before tossing it into the recycling bin. She saw the ad from MissingKids.com with the picture of a smiling six-year-old Tracy. She checked the date from which […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: California, Case of the Month, DNA, missing children, Tracy Lynn Davenport

Guilty verdict re John Sohus for Gerhartsreiter

April 11, 2013 By Alice

Guilty verdict re John Sohus for Gerhartsreiter. His sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2013. He faces 25 years to life in prison for the murder conviction, plus two additional years because the jury also found that he personally used a blunt object and a sharp instrument as weapons. It was not a death penalty […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics Tagged With: California, Christian Gerhartsreiter, DNA, Forensics, Identification, John and Linda Sohus, Missing Person, Police

A case colder than cold: Gary Vincent Murphy

September 14, 2012 By Alice

Gary Vincent Murphy with his daughter

One of the tragic things in life is that we are not equal. We may wish that we are equal but we really are not. Discrimination is part of life and unfortunately, it plays a role in crime solving, in how much media attention is paid to certain cases, and in people’s reactions when they […]

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: California, Gary Vincent Murphy, Gun Fire

The Onion Field Killer is dead

August 14, 2012 By Alice

Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger Photo by Greg Meyer

The Onion Field Killer is dead. Gregory Powell, a.k.a. the Onion Field Killer, died of prostate cancer at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville which is part of the state prison system. In 1963, Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith killed LAPD officer Ian Campbell in an onion field near Bakersfield. Campbell’s partner, Karl Hettinger, managed to escape and […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: California, Campbell and Hettinger, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Evidence, Gregory Powell, Ian Campbell, Karl Hettinger

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. […]

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

Update in 1981 Sohus case

March 26, 2012 By Alice

Linda Sohus

There is an update in the case of John and Linda Sohus: Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter a.k.a. Clark Rockefeller a.k.a. Christopher Chichester a.k.a. Christopher Crowe will go on trial in September 2012 for the 1985 murder of John Sohus, and whose wife, Linda (pictured on the left) is still missing. Gerhartsreiter is acccused with the murder of John Sohus, his then-landlady’s son. […]

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Filed Under: Forensics, Unsolved Tagged With: California, Crime Scene, DNA, Forensics, Identification, John and Linda Sohus

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 […]

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Filed Under: Unsolved 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 […]

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

Do you recognize this unidentified child?

October 2, 2011 By Alice

On Oct. 2,1979 the remains of a boy were found in a shallow grave on the side of Glendora Mountain Road. He is either white or Latino, had straight dark brown hair and was between 3 and 8 years old. He stood 3 feet 8 inches tall and weighed between 35 to 45 pounds. Detectives suspect the case is a homicide. The boy remains unidentified. (HAND-IN PHOTO courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received Oct. 1, 2011)

On Oct. 2, 1979 the remains of an unidentified boy were found in a shallow grave on the side of Glendora Mountain Road. He was either white or Latino, with straight dark brown hair, between 3-8 years old, 3 feet 8 inches tall, and between 35-45 pounds. Detectives suspect foul play. Craig Harvey, a spokesperson […]

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Filed Under: Unidentified Tagged With: California, John Doe, Unidentified

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Dina Fort

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.

My databases are free to the public. Cases are sorted by the victim’s last name.

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 cannot find the answers there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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