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 […]
Unsolved
Solving the Unsolved
Solving the Unsolved is the title of a new book from the AISOCC. With fellow members of the American Investigative Society Of Cold Cases, I contributed a chapter. I picked the unsolved case of Doni Grindstaff as it is a perfect example how an old cold case can be interpreted in various ways depending on […]
Do you know these five women?
Do you know these five women? Because if you do, the authorities can use your help. In my last book review “Unearthing a Serial Killer” we learned that Alex Mengel had photography in his possession from these five women. He also had a Pennsylvania tourism map with marks on it (see below). The authors, David […]
David Etienne Pimentel
A few weeks ago I received an email from Christina Hughes Babb. She alerted me to the 2014 cold case of David Etienne Pimentel (November 5, 1991 – July 28, 2014) from Dallas, Texas. The case was not very old but police did seem to be stuck. She enclosed the link to a story about […]
The cold case of Jennifer Marie Bastian
The cold case of Jennifer Marie Bastian (April 15, 1973 – August 4, 1986) got a boost in 2013 when Tacoma Police (WA) revealed more information to the public. Despite renewed media attention and various tips, the case is still unsolved. Jennifer was 13 years old when she went missing. According to the papers, Jennifer wanted […]
Guest blogging for GMA
Guest blogging for GMA was my pleasure and absolute honour. This UK based blog on human rights is from Global Minorities Alliance, a non-profit, non-governmental human rights organisation. They believe that all human beings, regardless of race, colour, religion or belief, faith or no faith, gender, or membership of another particular social group, should be treated […]
Access to justice for children
Access to justice for children means that children, or their proper advocates where applicable, must be able to use and trust the legal system to protect their human rights. The Child Rights International Network (CRIN) is the first organization to publish a global overview to show how effectively children or their guardians can use the courts […]
The cold case of Vicki Jo Dodd Silves
The cold case of Vicki Jo Dodd Silves (June 17, 1953 – December 8, 1997) needs more attention. On December 8, 1997, Vicki (44) was found dead on her driveway in the city Concrete, WA. Her injuries were consistent with being inflicted by an edged weapon. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case thoroughly […]
A look back at 2015
As 2015 comes to an end, we take a quick look back. The ten most popular cases in 2015 according to the number of visitors were: Hinterkaifeck Sodder Children Beaumont Children Jackie Johns Patty Vaughan Susanne Bombardier Brenda Lee Harvey Martinez Dottie & Bob Tidwell Teekah Lewis Fiona Burns & John Lee From the pages […]
Barbara Ann Blatnik (1971-1987)
Barbara Ann Blatnik (1971-1987) was just seventeen years old. On December 20, 1987, her nude body was found about 30 miles from her home in Garfield Heights (Ohio). She had been raped and strangled to death. I have not been able to find out whether she was manually strangled or with an object. Police originally […]