“Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery” about Duncan MacPherson by author John Leake is my new “must read” for this summer. Duncan Alvin MacPherson (Feb 3, 1966 – Aug 9, 1989), a Canadian professional ice hockey player, went missing during a short stay in Austria. John emailed to give me the heads up about the book. I scanned […]
Victim
Los Tocayos Carlos
Los Tocayos Carlos … the namesake Carlos … The Guardian has an excellent article about a Texas capital punishment case involving a wrongful conviction, switched identities, an unsolved murder, evidence not tested for DNA, sloppy police procedures and an execution. “Carlos DeLuna was arrested, aged 20, on 4 February 1983 for the brutal murder of […]
Elizabeth Heath autopsy details
More details have appeared in the Hartford Courant about Elizabeth Heath‘s violent death. Dr. H. Wayne Carver, the chief state medical examiner, was in charge of Elizabeth’s autopsy. It was not easy for him. Elizabeth’s remains covered 188 separate envelopes. “Gough Heath’s maxilla — the upper jaw — had been traumatically amputated from the skull, the […]
Guest post: Road death investigation by Dave Thomas
Guest post: Road death investigation by Dave Thomas. Dave has been a police officer for 15 years with the last 3 years on road policing. _________________________________________________________ Road death investigation and the importance of forensic evaluation. As a road policing officer based in the United Kingdom, I have seen advances in the last few years in automobile […]
Recap #cclivechat Feb 17, 2012
This recap of CCLiveChat is courtesy of Sue Carney. Today saw a massive turnout of cold case live chat stalwarts, old and new, for a regular-style cold case brainstorming session. Sadly, just as chat began, Alice got the tragic news of the death of her friend Phillip Finch, staunch supporter in the Zeigler case. As Alice […]
Original Zeigler Crime Scene Diagram
This is the original crime scene diagram made by private detective George Anan who was hired by the defense in 1976 and who searched the Zeigler furniture store together with attorney Vernon Davids. In a two-week examination of the store, Davids and Annan found a .38 caliber slug and a .38 caliber exit hole in […]
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 […]
Slow Movement Trey Noah Murder Trial
There is no way of knowing when the murder of Trey Noah will finally go to court. Brandon Harber and Shelby Moore were charged with Trey’s murder and will eventually be tried in Gillespie County, TX. However, “an initial confession from Moore was tossed out in a pre-trial hearing. The DA is appealing that decision. That […]
Jimmy Stanaway 1966-1990
Jimmy Stanaway 1966-1990. He was born on Dec 5 in 1966 and was killed in Jersey City (NJ) on Feb 2, 1990. Everyone knew his simply as “Jimmy.” This nickname was also his well known signature and is the feature on his headstone. To this day, there are questions in this case that have never been […]
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 […]