The jury found Robert Kociuk guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Beverly Dyke (48). She was killed in May 1984 in a wooded area near the airport. Police say she was sexually assaulted and then stabbed a number of times. The case would have remained unsolved if it weren’t for the advancement of DNA […]
DNA
Untested DNA Evidence – Henry Skinner Case
By request of DCC readers and people who follow me on Twitter, here is more information about the untested pieces of evidence that could shed a light on who truly killed Twila Busby and her two mentally impaired sons Randy Busby and Elwin Caler. Evidence Mr. Skinner has asked for DNA testing of seven items: (1) […]
Yolanda Baker; trial without a body
It’s been 11 years since Yolanda Baker’s family has seen her. So much time had passed that authorities declared her legally dead last year, although her body has never been found. Last summer, authorities arrested Baker’s boyfriend, Terrence Barnett, 45, the father of the D.C. woman’s twin children. He has been charged with first-degree murder. The […]
NamUS not used by all US Law Enforcement Agencies
NamUS, a new online database, promises to crack some of the nation’s 100,000 missing persons cases and provide answers to desperate families, but only a fraction of law enforcement agencies are using it. The clearinghouse, dubbed NamUs (Name Us), offers a quick way to check whether a missing loved one might be among the 40,000 sets […]
Manchester building site skeleton
Manchester building site skeleton could date to 1960, according to a BBC article. A woman’s skeleton was found at a building site in Manchester city centre. It may have been there for the last 50 years. The remains were found by workmen at the site on Miller Street, near the CIS Tower. It was treated as […]
Too many wrongful convictions
Today, Innocence Project’s client Freddie Peacock became the 250th person exonerated through DNA evidence in the United States of America. Peacock was convicted in New York in 1976 of a rape he didn’t commit based on an eyewitness misidentification and a false confession that police claimed he made during an interrogation. Peacock, who has severe […]
Identifying the Lost Soldiers of Fromelles
Identifying the Lost Soldiers of Fromelles is a great BBC Magazine article on another use of DNA: to identify the remains of World War I soldiers found in mass graves in France. “The remains of 250 British and Australian soldiers had lain undiscovered for 93 years since falling on the Western Front.Boots, purses, toothbrushes and […]
Catching Colette Aram’s killer
How police caught Hutchinson for the murder of Colette Aram Colette Aram (Feb 3, 1967 – Oct 30, 1983) featured on the new program “BBC Crimewatch.” The program showed forensic evidence including a taunting letter Hutchinson wrote to police in which he bragged about the crime. In 1983, police managed to get fingerprints from the letter but no […]
Who really killed Mrs. Bernice Martin?
On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. They found Mrs. Bernice Martin, 88 years old, barely breathing, and badly beaten. She died later that evening in the hospital. To many the case is closed. Convicted for her murder is her granddaughter’s former husband, Richard A. […]
DNA does not solve 1984 murder of Vickie Long
DNA does not solve the 1984 murder of Vickie Long. Todd Campbell, who was arrested for her murder was acquitted. “During the investigation, DNA from the victim’s clothing was entered into CODIS – the Combined DNA Index System, which stores DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crimes and missing people. In October 2009, Campbell had to provide […]