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Defrosting Cold Cases

Est. 2009

  • Cold Case Database: Index and Summaries
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  • Case of the Month (2014 – 2024)
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You are here: Home / Archives for Case of the Month

Case of the Month

Case of the Month: Hinterkaifeck

May 1, 2014 By Alice

The coffins of the Hinterkaifeck murders

Case of the Month: Hinterkaifeck from 1922. On March 31, in 1922, six people were murdered behind the hamlet of Kaifeck, Bavaria, Germany. The murder weapon was a mattock which is similar to a pickaxe. It has a long handle with a stout head that combines both an axe blade and a cutter, or a […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, Germany, Hinterkaifeck

Help the Cedar Rapids Police

April 10, 2014 By Alice

Michelle Martinko

Help the Cedar Rapids Police to get in touch with an anonymous person who contacted the Linn County Crime Stoppers about Michelle Martinko‘s cold case. The Public Safety Communications Coordinator Greg M. Buelow contacted me with the following message: “The Cedar Rapids Police Department is requesting additional assistance from a Linn County Crime Stoppers tipster who provided investigators […]

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Michelle Martinko

The Grahlman murders

April 1, 2014 By Alice

Grave Jay & Jaymie Grahlman

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 […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, Cruelty, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Iowa, Jay and Jaymie Grahlman

Case of the Month: Paula Oberbroeckling

March 1, 2014 By Alice

head shot 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 […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Autopsy, Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, Crime Scene, Iowa, Paula Oberbroeckling, Victim

William “Bill” Comeans (Jan 11, 1965 – Jan 7, 1980)

February 1, 2014 By Alice

William "Bill" Comeans

William “Bill” Comeans (Jan 11, 1965 – Jan 7, 1980) is the case of the month for February 2014. Comeans’ body was found by his dad just a block away from his home in West Columbus, Ohio. He had been strangled with his own scarf. His killer was never found. Comeans had been attacked twice […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, Columbus, DNA, knife, Ohio, Strangulation, William Comeans

Case of the Month: Julia Wallace

January 1, 2014 By Alice

Julia Wallace

Case of the Month: Julia Wallace. One of the most famous unsolved homicides in UK history is the murder of Julia Wallace. Her case inspired many movies, books, and television programs. Julia Dennis married William Wallace in March of 1914. She was older than Wallace. By how many years exactly is not clear to me. […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, DNA, Evidence, Julia Wallace, M-Vac Systems, UK, William Herbert Wallace

Case of the Month: Michelle Martinko

December 1, 2013 By Alice

Michelle Martinko

Case of the Month: Michelle Martinko was found murdered around 4am on December 20, 1979 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Police discovered her body in the parking lot of the Westdale Mall. The Kennedy High School senior (18) had been stabbed to death in the family Buick. Michelle’s murder remains ever present for her family members.“I […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Unsolved Tagged With: Case of the Month, Cedar Rapids, DNA, Michelle Martinko

Case of the Month: Josephine Backshall

November 1, 2013 By Alice

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 […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Autopsy, Case of the Month, Evidence, Josephine Backshall, M-Vac Systems, Strangulation, UK

Case of the Month: Keith Blakelock

October 1, 2013 By Alice

Keith Blakelock grid AdS

Case of the Month: Keith Blakelock. This month Nicholas Jacobs will appear at the Old Bailey and stand trial for the 1985 murder of UK police officer Keith Blakelock. Jacobs was 16 years old at the time of the riots. The case is expected to last up to six weeks. No application for bail was made. Jacobs was […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Forensics Tagged With: Broadwater Farm Riots, Case of the Month, Knife Attack, Nicholas Jacobs, Pc Keith Blakelock, Pc Richard Coombes

Case of the Month: Bernice Martin

September 2, 2013 By Alice

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 […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Cold Case News, Forensics, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Bernice Martin, Case of the Month, Connecticut, DNA, illegal wire-tapping, Police Misconduct, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Richard A. Lapointe

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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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