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. […]
DNA Database
RTI International Webinar on backlogs in crime labs
RTI International webinar on backlogs in crime labs and their impact on the justice system This morning I attended this webinar and learned more about the backlogs in crime labs, what causes them, whether all labs have a case acceptance policy, the costs involved and much more. The live discussion took place in Washington DC […]
18 years for Jasper S
18 years for Jasper S, that is what the judge handed down for the rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The prosecution had asked for 20 years. The defense did not deny the rape but argued that the murder was not intentional hence a reduced sentence was in order. The court did not accept that defense strategy […]
Verdict against Jasper S. expected April 19, 2013
Verdict against Jasper S. expected April 19, 2013. Jasper S. is of course standing trial re the 1999 rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The prosecution asked for 20 years however, his lawyer thinks that is too much and expects a sentence of 15 years. He does not consider Marianne’s murder proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He […]
Jasper S. confessed rape-murder Marianne Vaatstra
Today, Jasper S. confessed to the rape-murder of Marianne Vaatstra. During the night of May 1, 1999, Jasper saw Marianne Vaatstra on her bike. He stated that he did not know her. Jasper forced Marianne with a knife into the field where she was later found dead. More details will now be made public and we […]
Update Marianne Vaatstra
Update in the case of Marianne Vaatstra: according to Marianne’s father, his daughter did not know the man, Jasper S., whose DNA matched the biological materials left on Marianne’s body. He doubted that they knew each other especially if you consider the age differences. Marianne’s father did know Jasper’s children as they went to school […]
No longer cold: the 1999 murder of Marianne Vaatstra
The 1999 cold case of Marianne Vaatstra is defrosting in the Netherlands. Marianne was only sixteen years old when she was found murdered. Police arrested many people and even held a large scale DNA search but, the perpetrator was never found. On September 29, 2012, police began a “DNA relationship testing” in a 5 km […]
Zeigler: his latest motion denied
Zeigler’s latest motion to vacate judgment was denied. On November 13, 2012. Judge Whitehead denied the motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence based on newly discovered evidence in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler has been on death row for the 1975 quadruple murders that took place on Christmas Eve inside […]
Recap #cclivechat August 17, 2012
Today’s #cclivechat was dedicated to the 1974 Canadian cold case of Karen Caughlin. I highlighted several things that concern me in her case. Of course, those concerns are just the top of the iceberg! I started with the evidence in her case, worried that it might not have been preserved properly for examination with modern […]
Lapointe: DNA does not match
Who left his DNA behind: Richard A. Lapointe or Frederick Rodney Merrill? We have new developments that could shed a light on the case of Bernice Martin and could once and for all clear up who left his DNA. We already know it wasn’t Lapointe. The Connecticut State Board of Pardons and Paroles decided last week to grant […]
Key evidence lost in Hank Skinner case
Key evidence is lost in the case of Hank Skinner so despite the fact that the state of Texas now backs further DNA testing, we still will not get all the answers we need. There are pictures of the jackets (see here) but the big blood- and sweat-stained tan jacket with snap buttons down the front found near […]
The Beaumont Children: 1966 – 2012
Forty-six years ago, Jim and Nancy Beaumont were confronted with a nightmare that has been ongoing ever since. Their beloved children, all three of their children, vanished without a trace. It broke their hearts, their hopes, and their marriage. Over the years, South Adelaide Police did investigate more leads. They checked into child serial rapist […]
Reversal Juan Rivera Conviction
From the New York Times: “In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago. There […]
Book alert: Cold Case Research
Book alert: Cold Case Research. In 2012 “Cold Case Research” will come out. The author is Silvia Pettem and this is how she describes her book: “Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases,” to be published by CRC Press in 2012. Topics include the latest search engine tools such as TLO, the […]
Bernard Jackson sentenced today
Bernard Jackson was sentenced today. He received 18 consecutive life sentences for rapes committed in the Waldo and Armour Hills neighborhoods almost 30 years ago. No trial date has yet been set for Jackson’s other unresolved criminal cases. Prosecutors accused him of two more recent sexual assaults in the Waldo area. The Case Jackson is […]
DNA techniques
Please welcome back guest blogger Sue Carney. Sue is my DNA expert. In my previous posts and in Cold Case Live Chats, a few other DNA techniques have been mentioned. It seems appropriate to provide a little detail on these techniques: How they work and when best to use them. Mitochondrial DNA Cells contain a […]
Zeigler, Part XIII
Zeigler, Part XIII WARNING: this post contains actual crime scene photographs. They are very graphic. The photographs are not included to sensationalize the case. They are included because they tell a story. If you scroll down and continue to read, you will view them at your own risk. ________________________________________________________________ Zeigler’s first trial attorney Ralph “Terry” […]
DNA in four hours
Forensic scientists have developed a test that can match a suspect’s DNA to crime scene samples in just four hours. The new technique could greatly speed up forensic testing, making the process almost as easy as matching fingerprints. Police could check whether a suspect’s DNA matches profiles in a database before a decision is taken […]
Michael VonAllmen: Cleared after 30 years
Cleared after 30 years in Louisville, KY: After 11 years in prison before being paroled in 1994 for being convicted of rape and other charges in 1982, Michael VonAllmen’s record is now clear. On July 15, 2010, a judge finally ruled to dismiss all charges with prejudice, which means the charges can never be brought back. […]
Conviction in 1987 Nancy Eileen Converse murder
A man who strangled Nancy Eileen Converse to death 23 years ago was sentenced to two decades in prison, after Portland’s Cold Case Unit dug into the case and matched his DNA to the crime scene. James Samuel Owens (67) plead no contest to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Nancy Eileen Converse (42). She was […]