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Defrosting Cold Cases

Est. 2009

  • Cold Case Database: Index and Summaries
    • Index
      • Cases Index A-G
      • Cases Index H-N
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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

Petronella M. Runkaitis Petreikis

May 1, 2021 By Alice

Kazimir and Petronella Petreikis Courtesy Petreikis Family

On Nov 8, 1952 around 150pm, Petronella M. Runkaitis Petreikis (1882 – 1952) finished working in the corn fields, in the Peotone Township of Will County, Illinois. She was sixty-six years old. She needed to get back to her bed-ridden (diabetic) husband Kazimir Petreikis, and only had to cross US Highway 54 (now 45) to […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, hit-and-run, Illinois, Peotone, Petronella M. Runkaitis Petreikis

Lakota Rae Renville (1983 – 2005)

April 1, 2021 By Alice

Lakota Rae Renville Grid AdS

Lakota Rae Renville (July 6, 1983 – Oct 16, 2005) was only 22 years old when her body was found on Oct 16, 2005. Her remains were in an open gravel lot near Pitcher Road, Independence, Missouri. Lakota,  a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe of South Dakota, was the daughter of Julie Keeble Watts […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Unsolved Tagged With: Case of the Month, Lakota Rae Renville, M-Vac Systems, Missouri, stabbing death

Rita Hester (Nov 30, 1963 – Nov 28, 1998)

February 28, 2021 By Alice

Rita Hester

The murder of Rita Hester launched the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). It is an annual vigil that takes place on Nov 20 for transgender homicide victims and their loved ones. That day, we honour the memory of the transgender people we lost due to senseless acts of anti-transgender violence. Maybe the mainstream media is […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Unsolved Tagged With: Boston, Case of the Month, Gay/Trans Panic Defense, Knife Attack, Massachusetts, Rita Hester, Transgender Violence

What we lost

December 31, 2020 By Alice

Photography Simon Folkard

At the beginning of 2021, the first post in the series Case of the Month should be dedicated to what and who we lost. We lost too many people in 2020, yes. But we also lost our routines. We lost some insight in each other. And, we lost patience. The year 2020 was so unique, […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month

David Mark Schwochert (1956 – 1973)

December 1, 2020 By Alice

David Mark Schwochert Photograph Deborah Regner

David Mark Schwochert (Aug 2, 1956 – Jan 1, 1973) was a junior at Burlington High School in Burlington, Wisconsin. He liked his woodworking class, he was quiet, disciplined, and was called “even tempered.” He had a part time job as a gas station attendant at Clark Service Station on 590 Milwaukee Ave, Burlington, Racine, […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, David Mark Schwochert, gunshot, Wisconsin

Missing: Amanda Lee Fravel

October 1, 2020 By Alice

Amanda Lee Fravel Missing Poster

Amanda Lee Fravel went missing on Friday, June 13, 1986 from Las Vegas, Nevada. She was supposed to go home to see her mother in California. Her mother had even sent her an airplane ticket for the trip. She was to board June 14th. However, Amanda never boarded any plane and never arrived in California. […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Missing Persons Tagged With: Amanda Lee Fravel, Case of the Month, Endangered missing, Nevada

1991 East Allentown John Doe 

September 1, 2020 By Alice

Artist rendering of the 1991 unidentified East Allentown John Doe

NamUs profile #UP16506 is about the unidentified 1991 East Allentown case that was uploaded on April 7, 2017. This case remains unsolved so I made it the Case of the Month for September, 2020.  The Case On Sunday, April 28, 1991 around 6pm, two hikers on a hillside near Albert Street, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, found scattered […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Unidentified Tagged With: 1991 East Allentown John Doe, Allentown, Case of the Month, Pennsylvania, Unidentified

Louise Raney Keko (Aug 18, 1938 – Aug 4, 1991)

August 1, 2020 By Alice

Courtesy of Louise Raney Keko's Family

The case of Louise Raney Keko (Aug 18, 1938 – Aug 4, 1991) is still unsolved. For obvious reasons, she is the case of the Month for August. UPDATE: I received the picture you see here on the left from the family with permission to use on this post. Thank you! ** I came across […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Case of the Month, gunshot, Louise Raney Keko, Louisiana, Wrongful Convictions

Missing: Jefferie Hill

July 1, 2020 By Alice

Jefferie Hill

Jefferie Hill (2) was last seen on September 28, 1968, in Tokoroa, New Zealand. He was almost three years old when he vanished. Authorities assume that he drowned in the Matarawa Creek that ran behind his home. But, doubt remains. This is the Case of the Month for July 2020. Missing On Saturday, September 28, […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Missing Persons Tagged With: Case of the Month, Jefferie Hill, Missing Person, New Zealand, Tokoroa

Mary Emma Bisenthal Hammond

May 31, 2020 By Alice

Mary Emma Hammond Grid AdS

Mary Emma Bisenthal Hammond (Aug 1, 1958 – missing Sept 8, 1983) left for work in the early morning hours of September 8, 1983. She went missing and was never seen again. This is the Case of the Month for June 2020. What do we know? September 1983 On September 8, 1983 Mary Emma Bisenthal Hammond […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Missing Persons Tagged With: Canada, Case of the Month, Mary Emma Bisenthal Hammond, Missing Person, Ontario

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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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