This season of festivities and joy is bitter-sweet knowing that some loved ones are missing from our table. Some families lost their loved ones and had hoped to get some answers this year. Some did, yes. But progress is slow and there is no telling which cases will get answers in the New Year. I wish […]
Unsolved
The December Killings
The December Killings always give me pause. During this month, we lost Maria Ridulph, Shawn K. Simmons, Officer Deriek Crouse, Kimberly Ann Thompson went missing, Leo Resk, and Gregory McRoberts was killed in a hit-and-run. Michelle Martinko was murdered, Eric Beasley was killed, and Amber, Karmon, and Kameron Willingham died during the accidental fire that led to their father’s wrongful execution. Patty Vaughan […]
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction has been part of my life since 1993 when I started working for Amnesty International in Switzerland. I am appalled that the injustice endures. In December 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store in Wintergarden, Florida. The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry […]
Nominee 2014 ABA Top 100 Blawgs!
Nominee 2014 ABA Top 100 Blawgs! What wonderful news on the day my blog turned five years old: it is nominated for the 2014 American Bar Association’s Top 100 Blawgs (law blogs) in the category criminal justice. Of course, I need your votes. But just like last year, your votes are not for my glory. […]
Fifth Anniversary: Nov 24, 2009-2014
Fifth Anniversary: Nov 24, 2009-2014. This month five years ago, I bought the domain name Defrosting Cold Cases. I made that name up. I wanted to blog about unsolved homicides but predominantly about those cases where the victim had absolutely (or hardly any) no web presence and those victims who had no celebrity spokesperson attached […]
Update Albert Ray McQueen
Update Albert Ray McQueen was made possible after emails with his family. I quote: “Albert was missing for a year before his bones were found in 1980. Two siblings went up to the gorge and they are the ones who found his glasses and a piece of his vertebrae that the police missed. He was […]
The long-awaited review report of the Crewe Murders
The long-awaited review report of the Crewe Murders can be found here but it may not hold the answers to all the issues that we discussed here on my blog. If you open the first link you will see the website with a short clip on the review. Below is the report in parts or […]
Update: the Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask, a mystery we can solve even today. Yes, I can see you frown. Is this not a case from way back then? Yes, but that does not mean we can forget about victims, can we? I blogged about this case and I repost the link here so you can read up on […]
Carmen Melinda Croan, more information
More information about Carmen Melinda Croan came in after I posted her story as Case of the Month for July. A reader emailed me copies of old newspaper articles found on a library fiche. The following is based on those newspaper articles. Most came from the Odessa American, a Freedom Newspaper. Suspected, indicted, and charged […]
Still unsolved: Tamara Greene
Still unsolved: Tamara Greene was shot to death in a drive-by shooting back in 2003. She was an exotic dancer that was believed to be at a rumored – but never proven – party at the Manoogian Mansion when Kwame Kilpatrick was Mayor of Detroit. In April 2013 a federal appeals court ruled to uphold a […]