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 […]
Finger Printing
Update Trey Noah Trial
The trial in Trey Noah’s murder will most likely take place towards to end of the year. Other cases take precedence over his according to the Blanco News Online. “Harber has been released on $300,000 surety bond under nine conditions, including the conditions that he is not allowed to have contact with Noah’s family or […]
Update Hank Johnson
On July 10, 2008, Hank Johnson was found by his girlfriend on the floor of his hotel room. He was severely beaten and covered in his own blood. The beating with baseball bats left three cracks in his skull and a fatally cracked nose. He never regained consciousness. Hank died less than two weeks later. Police found […]
Update Moira Holly Branagan
We have renewed activity in the Branagan case. Currently, we are actively investigating Holly’s former friends, classmates, and neighbourhood kids. What we are looking for is: abrupt behavioural changes right after the murder which one of her former friends/classmates committed suicide which one of her former friends/classmates has been committed to a psychiatric hospital which one […]
Zeigler: The significance of the Jellison Tape
Zeigler: The significance of the Jellison Tape (part XVIII) Is it evidence? Is it exonerating? Is it implicating? The tape’s conversation has been posted in full so I refer you to the previous post to read it. As you know, it was suppressed by the state for about twelve years. Why? Because of what Jon Jellison […]
Update Burchfield
I received comments regarding the Burchfield case that I have not posted before but have decided to do so now with additional information I found: Q1: “In the picture, the officer wore his weapon at high-rise, cross-draw, on his left, making it available to either hand and away from his passengers. Do we know if […]
Arrest in 1981 murder of Joseph Azevedo
Christopher David Winter was arrested for the 1981 murder of Joseph Azevedo (Nov 14, 1930 – May 2, 1981) from Lancaster, CA. Detectives believe that Winter was burglarizing Azevedo‘s mobile home and was startled by Joseph, an aircraft mechanic. Winter is described as a truck driver living in Indiana. Armando Azevedo was 17 when he and his […]
Zeigler, Part XVII
In my previous post “Zeigler, Part XVI“, I referred to the Jellison tape that was conveniently kept from the defense team. It was only recovered in April of 1987, when Zeigler’s lawyers made a Florida Public Records Act request for the files of the State Attorney in Orlando. That’s when they discovered (aside from the “Buried Thompson report”) […]
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 […]
Update Bennett Family-Patricia Smith
More details are popping up in the news about the night that the Bennett Family was murdered. Bruce Bennett apparently repeatedly climbed the staircase of his home in the early morning hours of Jan. 16, 1984, desperately fighting a man who sneaked into his home with a knife and hammer to attack him, his wife, […]
Can we base a conviction on one palm print?
Can we base a conviction on one palm print? In August of 1984, a double sexual assault took place in West Norwood, south London, UK. A teenager assaulted a woman in her home and forced her flatmate to join in the abuse. The teenager wore a balaclava and used an iron bar to force the woman […]
Fingerprints identify 1990 UK M25 victim!
Fingerprints identify 1990 UK M25 victim! New fingerprint technology has enabled police to identify a woman who was killed on the M25 in Hertfordshire, UK, 20 years ago. The victim’s name: Lesley Ann Pickavance. Lesley Ann had been in contact with her family, who are from Bedford, but was not living with them during the summer […]
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 … […]
The Skinner jury: what we know now…
If they knew then what we know now…read about the thoughts and feelings of the original Skinner jury! “In light of new developments that have surfaced in the 15 years since Skinner’s trial, several of the original jurors are no longer sure of his guilt. Five say they might have had reasonable doubt at the […]
Finland: DNA v. Fingerprint Analysis
The crime laboratory of the National Bureau of Investigation in Finland is examining DNA samples about twice as often as it resorts to fingerprint analysis. Last year the NBI crime laboratory examined 6,000 DNA samples. In the same period of time, the laboratory analysed 3,000 fingerprints. Finland is actively sharing its database with neighbouring countries […]
New developments Quang Lu
Toronto homicide detectives believe a north Scarborough home is where a reputed gangster was killed before his body was encased in a cement-filled barrel and dumped in Lake Ontario. Police showed up with a search warrant late Monday at 12 Shallowford Ct. to look for evidence in the case of Quang Lu, 47. They are working […]
Update Quang Lu
Police believed millionaire loan shark Quang Lu was murdered shortly after he disappeared in October 2007. The discovery of a body in a barrel last week on Sunday proved the prediction by police specializing in Asian organized crime was correct. Homicide detectives said Tuesday the well-preserved body of Quang Lu known on the streets as […]
Gummy Fingers, on sale now!
LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Fingerprint identification, which was supposed to be the last barrier to stop forgery in NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority) and the Passport Department, is now being rendered useless by the use of ‘gummy fingers’ (artificial fingerprints) with the cooperation of officials. People claim that by paying Rs 300,000 to Rs 500,000, anyone could get […]
Zeigler, Part V
Zeigler, Part V: The Bodies Mr. Charlie Mays was savagely beaten, his face disfigured with blood coming through his skull, and he had been shot twice in the abdomen (once from the front and once from the back). Judging from the blood splatters, Mays had been beaten to death where he was found. The killer […]
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 […]