The 1974 murder of Karen Caughlin By Miriam Said with Alice de Sturler Introduction Sarnia, Canada: a quiet border city on the Canadian side of the Blue Water Bridge linking Sarnia’s neighbouring village of Point Edward to the city of Port Huron, Michigan in the United States of America. Here, thirty-seven year ago, Karen Caughlin […]
Expert Testimony
Continuance in Trey Noah murder trial
District Judge Keith Williams granted a continuance in the murder trial of Trey Noah, Kendalia, Texas. “Shelby Moore, 19, and Brandon Harber, 20, were arrested and charged in connection with the crime and were expected in court this week to stand trial. Moore is being held in the Bandera County Jail. Harber posted a $300,000 […]
Update Waldo rapist!
Jackson County prosecutors today filed 22 charges against Bernard Jackson, a twice-convicted sex offender, in connection with the series of rapes that terrified women in the Waldo area a year ago. Prosecutors used DNA from a lotion bottle and a shirt to link Jackson, 53, to two of the five attacks that happened between September […]
Update 1989 Hina Murders
The papers report that “Prosecutors and defense attorneys last week filed a request for jury selection in David B. McLeod’s trial to begin Aug. 1, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General N. William Delker. McLeod was indicted last year on four counts of murder, accused of setting a blaze that killed Carl R. Hina, 49, Lori M. […]
Missing: Laura Henderson-Ibach
Understanding the 1986 Laura Henderson-Ibach disappearance is not easy. This case is as mind-boggling as it gets. I call it a disappearance because Laura’s body has never been found. No forensic evidence points to a crime scene. Yet, two men are serving 99 years in prison. They have been convicted of kidnapping and first degree […]
Zeigler, Part XV
Zeigler, Part XV: “Just testify that you were Zeigler’s homosexual lover and we’ll help you out!” A Florida, Orange County woman in her 80’s, reads an affidavit that she signed alleging that the state tried to get her son to testify that he was William Thomas Zeigler’s homosexual lover. As you know, the state went through great […]
Night Stalker’s DNA confirmed
The Night Stalker a.k.a. Richard Ramirez terrorized California in the early 80s with a string of rape-murders. His DNA has now finally been retested allowing San Francisco Police to close the case of the 1984 murder of a 9-year-old girl in the Tenderloin. Though the retesting of the serial killer’s DNA was largely a formality — meant simply […]
Stephen Saloom: Texas science panel chairman John Bradley is biased
Stephen Saloom, the policy director of the New York-based Innocence Project, said prosecutor John Bradley shows “a critically important lack of objectivity” in his approach to the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. Bradley has publicly called Willingham a “guilty monster.” Bradley is the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which is investigating whether fire […]
“The petition warrants a hearing,” Judge Baird
The inquiry into the Willingham case will be held in his courtroom on Oct. 6-7, but Judge Baird said that it could be extended if necessary. Supporters of Cameron Todd Willingham hailed the Austin district judge’s decision last Monday to open a two-day court of inquiry next month. He will determine whether Willingham was wrongfully convicted and […]
Carnahan’s fate in the hands of the jury
Jackie Johns was murdered by Gerald Carnahan and his fate is now in the hands of the people: he is facing 12 jurors. Closing arguments in his trial ended about 11:45 a.m. today. Carnahan is charged with killing Jackie Johns, 20, of Nixa in June 1985 in Springfield, MO. Before closing arguments, St. Louis County Circuit Judge […]
Update Skinner
From the Texas Moratorium Network: On October 13, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Skinner v. Switzer to determine whether Hank Skinner‘s request for DNA testing can be considered as a civil rights claim rather than as part of his death penalty appeal. Skinner has always maintained his innocence. Mr. Skinner has asked for […]
Jackie Johns trial update
Jackie Johns trial update: in 2007, investigators said that DNA analysis of blood in Jackie Johns’ abandoned car linked Gerald Carnahan to the crime scene, and he was charged with first-degree murder. He’s now on trial in St. Louis County Circuit Court, Missouri. Two former crime scene investigators took the stand. Both Dwight McNiel, a former […]
The 1985 Cold Case of Jackie Johns finally goes to trial
The 1985 Cold Case of Jackie Johns finally goes to trial. One of the most anticipated murder trial in the Ozarks of the past quarter century is underway in St. Louis County after a judge ordered a change-of-venue for a story well-known in southwestern Missouri. For 25 years, Gerald Carnahan has been the chief suspect in the rape and […]
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” […]
Update 1979 Julius Schnoll case
Darrell Kastel, facing a first-degree murder charge, entered a plea this morning, bringing relief to the people who were present during the 1979 shooting of a supermarket supervisor in Farmington, MI. Kastel, 56, pleaded no contest to an added charge of second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. The first-degree felony murder charge against him […]
Michael Green freed by DNA after 27 years!
Michael Green was convicted of rape in 1983 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. But last Wednesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas announced that new DNA testing proved that Green was not involved in the assault. Green said he can’t help but be angry about the time that he lost. The process Green […]
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. […]
Lapointe hearing July 6, 2010
During direct examination on Tuesday, Lapointe’s attorney, Paul Casteleiro, suggested that in his quest for a confession, Detective Morrissey overlooked inconsistencies in Richard’s admission to Morrissey and failed to ask important questions. In his confession, Richard said he had strangled 88-year-old Bernice Martin with his hands, but the medical examiner determined she had been strangled […]
Zeigler, Part XI
Zeigler, Part XI: On Juror Intimidation and Judicial Override You can debate all you want but I have made up my mind; Zeigler is guilty! That was what jury foreman Charles Ashley announced right after he had been elected foreman. According to other jurors, he had made up his mind about two weeks prior … […]
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 […]