Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

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Moira "Holly" Branagan

Moira “Holly” Branagan murdered 40 years ago

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Moira “Holly” Branagan (Dec 8, 1962 – March 28, 1979) was murdered 40 years ago today. In 2014, it looked like the 1979 case was breaking open. However, Det. Thomas Galloway, in charge of the investigation, did not release any information except for this: “I have developed a suspect, but we’re not ready to move […]

Moira “Holly” Branagan (1962-1979)

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Moira “Holly” Branagan (1962 – 1979) was murdered 37 years ago today. Holly was found stabbed 18 times in the back with a 10-inch kitchen knife. The autopsy showed she had 15 serious knife wounds, three less serious wounds, and two defensive wounds on her hands. The crime The attack was so violent that the […]

Suspect in Branagan cold case

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When I checked StatCounter I saw that many people had look up the Moira Holly Branagan case. I asked on Twitter whether there was anything new I might have missed … and YES! An article came up in Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper on Sunday. Hat Tip to @deathunderglass! “For the first time since Holly Branagan‘s murder 35 […]

Moira Holly Branagan Alert

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The Grand Jury is making progress in the cold case of Moira Holly Branagan. New material have been sent to the labs to be examined for DNA, and a report is expected at the end of the month. Moira “Holly” Branagan (1962 – 1979) was found stabbed 18 times in the back with a 10-inch kitchen […]

Update Moira Holly Branagan

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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 […]

Sum it up! #5

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In this Sum it up I’d like to draw your attention to four websites or blogs that have kept me busy reading all week. The first one is “the Civil Rights Cold Case Project.”  On this site you can find information about cases related to the Civil Rights Era and some you will recognize since […]

Different angles: Branagan Case

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Different angles in the Branagan Case: I have been musing with my friends on Twitter about some of the cold cases on DCC and good remarks have led me to rethink some cases, go back over details, check where I might have missed something, or where I assumed something was clear while it only was […]

Murdered: Moira “Holly” Branagan

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Moira “Holly” Branagan (Dec 8, 1962 – March 28, 1979) was a senior at Freedom High School. She had a part-time job at a local deli. Her father worked as a sales executive for Lone Star. He was away on a business trip the night she died. Her mother, who’d suffered from leukemia, had passed […]