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 […]
Expert Testimony
Sum it Up! #52
Sum it Up! #52 starts with the release of Sture Bergwall. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “In a series of trials between 1994 and 2001, Sture Bergwall was convicted of eight murders, despite there being no forensic evidence or witness statements, and confessed to many more. But Bergwall, 63, later recanted his confessions, saying he made them […]
Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013
Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013: Today we spoke about wrongful convictions with Nancy Petro. A short introduction to wrongful convictions started this crimechat. How do we find out about Wrongful Convictions in general? A: We discover that the victim is alive & well. Examples: India 2003, the Reena Devi case. Reena disappeared, her mother ID-ed her […]
Fingerprint Misidentification
Fingerprint Misidentification: State of Indiana v. Lana Canen. Based on a fingerprint misidentification, Lana Canen spent eight years in prison for a murder she did not commit. But now, she has finally been exonerated of Helen Sailor’s 2002 murder. From the Wrongful Convictions Blog: “On Thanksgiving 2002, Helen Sailor, an elderly woman living in Elkhart, Indiana, was […]
Possible prosecution in 1985 Blakelock case
All the papers were buzzing since last night about a possible prosecution in the 1985 cold case of UK Police Officer Keith Blakelock. Officer Blakelock and his colleague Pc Coombes was was attacked by 300-strong mob as he tried to protect firefighters who were tackling a supermarket blaze at the height of the riot known as the […]
Update Robert Henderson
Robert Henderson visited the University of Hawaii in the summer of ’96. Five days later his naked body would be discovered at the Ilikai Hotel. Fourteen years later Jason Lee McCormick came forward to say he did it. “Everyone agrees to the facts. There is no question in the government’s mind, or my mind, as to what happened. The question […]
#CCLiveChat recap Feb 10, 2012
In this CCLiveChat, Andrew Wade who introduced us to fire investigations. Andrew is a world renowned forensic scientist with over 30 years experience as a practitioner. He joined the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory in the chemistry section where he reported on numerous cases as a court going officer. In 1989 he transferred internally to the […]
Hina Family Murders trial on hold
From the New Hampshire Sentinel: “The [Hina Family] case — originally slated for trial in August — has been delayed twice and will remain on hold indefinitely while the N.H. Supreme Court considers whether to hear an appeal from the N.H. Attorney General’s Office of a pre-trial ruling by Judge Marguerite L. Wageling, who is presiding […]
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 […]
Penn State CSI Students on the Zeigler Case
Penn State CSI Students on the Zeigler Case: a review of Zeigler Project. During their final spring semester twenty five (25) undergraduate and five (5) graduate students from Penn State University (PSU) reviewed documents pertaining to the trial and conviction of William Thomas Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler was convicted in 1976 of murdering his wife Eunice Zeigler, […]
Hodel answers questions about the Black Dahlia
Steve Hodel will answer your questions. As you know, our #cclivechat on July 15, 2011, centers on the case of Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth (July 29, 1924 – January 15, 1947) was found savagely murdered and her body was left in plain view for anyone to see the grotesque mutilations that she was subjected to before she […]
Follow-up #VI Karen Caughlin
Continuing the posts in the cold case of Karen Caughlin: Guest post by Miriam Said and Stephanie Saunders with Alice de Sturler ________________________________________ We have some new details in the 1974 Canadian cold case of Karen Caughlin. Karen was NOT wearing saucer earrings but hoops. I think that we described them in an earlier post […]
Update 1989 Hina Murders
The hearing into the Hina Murders today brought forward some more details about the fire. Key is of course whether the fire was accidental or arson. Also, exactly where was the point of origin and what was the material that ignited first. From the New Hampshire Sentinel Source Online: “On Wednesday, a federal fire investigator […]
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 […]
Laura Henderson-Ibach: Mac’s van
One of the issues in the Laura Henderson-Ibach case has been Mac’s van. Did a live or death struggle take place here or not? As you have been able to read in our post, the van doubled as a temporary home to Jim Kerwin. Please take a look at these pictures. They were taken before […]
Follow-up #IV Karen Caughlin
A compilation: A lot of information has come in either by email or comments that have not been posted for good reasons. However, all those bits and pieces of information fill in some of the blanks we have in the posts and clarify other issues. I have made a compilation below: Re the 1970/71 Chrysler, […]
Guest post: Laura Henderson-Ibach: The timeline does not work
Guest post: Laura Henderson-Ibach: The timeline does not work and police do not care. Part 4 by Tiah. Two different private investigators interviewed everyone who was connected in any way to this case. Much of what they found I will discuss here. If I use the phrase “we know” it is because the information was […]
Update Richard Lapointe: Habeas denied
Richard Lapointe: his Habeas Petition was denied as reported by the Hartford Courant. “Superior Court Judge John J. Nazzaro, in a 51-page ruling issued late Friday, turned back arguments that prosecutors had withheld material evidence, that Lapointe’s trial and appellate lawyers were incompetent, and that new evidence proved Lapointe was innocent. The decision is another defeat in what […]
Laura Henderson-Ibach, A life lost and many lives destroyed
Please welcome guest blogger Tiah who will be covering the cold case of Laura Henderson-Ibach. Unlike most guest bloggers on my site, Tiah is not involved in the legal world. Instead, she is an accountant, a far leap from the world of forensics and law! Tiah has assisted on appeal cases in the past; she was […]
The role of Fingerprints in Cold Cases
The role of Fingerprints in Cold Cases is a guest blog post written by Richard Mark Case. He is a registered UK “Fingerprint Expert” and has gracefully agreed to a guest post for DCC. This blog post contains his own personal views and may not reflect those held by the National Policing Improvement Agency or The Fingerprint Society. You […]