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 […]
Forensics
Tamara Chipman: Highway of Tears disappearance
On the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Tamara Chipman, one of many women to go missing along B.C.’s “Highway of Tears, Canada,” police are pleading for help from the public. Tamara Chipman, 22, was last seen on Sept. 21, 2005, five kilometres east of Prince Rupert. She was hitchhiking to Terrace along Highway 16 — on […]
Arrest in 20 year old Potes Case
Capital murder charges were filed last Thursday in the 1990 Potes murders, investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. Andre Sloan, the suspect, is currently serving a life sentence in prison for a 1992 triple murder in the Houston area. Investigators now believe he was also among a group of men who broke into a […]
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, […]
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 […]
Henderson suspect gives handwriting sample
A state judge ordered Jason Lee McCormick yesterday to provide handwriting samples for investigators to compare with what was written on a murder victim’s body. Immediately after the judge handed down the order, a Honolulu Police Department document examiner was in the courtroom to retrieve the samples. McCormick, 36, is awaiting trial for second-degree murder […]
DNA ties Patricia Smith to the Bennetts
Six days before the Bennett Family was butchered and bludgeoned in their own home, Patricia Smith was killed by the same person, authorities will reveal at a news conference later today. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation recently tied the two 1984 cases together through a DNA match, said Steve Davis, spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department. The […]
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 […]
Who is this unidentified teenager?
An unidentified teenager was found eight years ago behind a strip mall in Tempe, Arizona. I call her “Tempe’s Jane Doe.” She was between 15 and 19, of Latino, Native American or biracial descent, with straight dark hair and brown eyes. She had a scar on the top of her left shoulder and a small, “L-shaped” […]