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 […]
Partial Finger Printing
Gone but not forgotten: Raymond Nels Nelson
Gone but not forgotten: Raymond Nels Nelson: thirty-one years ago, someone killed Raymond Nels Nelson by hitting him on the head with a typewriter. Nelson, bureau chief of the Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin in Warwick, Rhode Island, and later a member of Senatorial candidate Claiborne Pell’s team, was a dynamic man and public figure in Washington, D.C., but foremost, he […]
Guest Post: “In loving memory: Raymond Nelson”
Losing a parent is a devastating experience. The loss of her father, Raymond Nelson, to senseless violence has left its mark on Rebecca. Her father, Raymond Nels Nelson, was not without flaw. However, everyone you asked had a positive first impression from Raymond Nelson. Rebecca has chosen to share her thoughts about her father, his […]
Moira Holly Branagan Alert
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 […]
Book alert: Cold Case Research
Book alert: Cold Case Research. In 2012 “Cold Case Research” will come out. The author is Silvia Pettem and this is how she describes her book: “Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases,” to be published by CRC Press in 2012. Topics include the latest search engine tools such as TLO, the […]
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 […]
Follow-up #V Karen Caughlin
We still need to find out in what condition Karen Caughlin’s clothes were found and whether the paint chips were on the back or the front of her bomber jacket. We did find that there was blood and a tire impression on Karen’s coat. We do not know as of yet whether the collected DNA […]
A message from the Caughlin Family
The Caughlin family has been very cooperative and courageously opened up the lines of communication with me. I have alerted them to every post and and every comment and they have read everything. This message was sent to me and is for all who work on the case, for all DCC readers, and especially for […]
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 […]
Recap cclivechat March 25, 2011
A roller coaster CCLiveChat that went on for 90 minutes if we had not been called back to our daily duties! We started of with my request for help. There are cases were I could use help researching a cold case, post an introduction to the case, and then keep the case up to date. […]
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” […]
Police Reopen 1970 murder Leon Jordan
Police want to reopen the cold case of Leon Jordan. Kansas City police announced this today. Leon Jordan was a civil rights and political leader. In a news release, police said that they “have located the weapon used in the murder and partial fingerprints taken from the weapon and cars around the crime scene. The fingerprints […]
The Cold Case of Robert Lawrence Tatman
On November 25, 1967, police found Robert Lawrence Tatman lying on his back in front of his own squad car, motor running, revolving lights still on, and the front door at the driver’s side open, near Interstate 57. His flashlight was lying on his left side. His hat was on the ground near the curb. He […]