This week’s Sum it Up is about relief for many people. First of all, for Victor Nealon in the UK. In 1996, Victor Nealon was accused of an attempted sexual assault. Now, there is hope that we can prove his innocence. “Lawyers for a man jailed for attempted sexual assault believe his release is one step closer after the Crown Prosecution Service agreed to examine clothing for crucial DNA evidence that was not provided at his trial 14 years ago. The CPS has agreed that there is no record of police sending the clothes for examination. Samples of DNA on items of the victim’s clothing were shown in independent tests to be from another man. The CPS now intends to carry out its own DNA comparison.”
In Ontario, we saw the release of Tammy Marquardt who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder that never was. In fact, it was the death of her own then two year old son Kenneth, that landed Tammy in prison. Flawed testimony from pathologist Charles Smith suggested smothering or suffocation. Two neurologists who examined the boy independently however, thought that a sudden death from epileptic seizure was the cause of death. “Last week, Smith was stripped of his medical license by Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He now lives in British Columbia.”
Good news from the UK: the UK national police database will delete DNA profiles of hundreds of thousand innocent people. The new civil liberties legislation also regulates the use of CCTV cameras by police and local authorities to make sure that they are “proportionately and appropriately.”
My friends at the Los Angeles Sherrif’s Department proudly announced a conviction in the cold cases of Isunero Pounds and they also have an arrest in the 2001-2002 Long Beach and South Gate murders. They could use your help in finding Joe Luis Saenz. Saenz “first came to the attention of law enforcement when LAPD detectives identified him as the suspect in the 1998 murder of two men in the Hollenbeck area of Los Angeles. Less than two weeks later, Saenz is believed to have kidnapped, raped, and murdered his girlfriend, who was also the mother of his child.” Saenz is also on the FBI ten most wanted fugitives list, see here.
This week, friends on Twitter alerted me to two mindboggling cases. The first is the bizarre disappearance of Jennifer Goodwin; missing or not? Read it, it is really mindboggling! If you this that is mindboggling, read up on the Colin Howell case. Hat tip to @Pam-nAshes for this story. A dentist wants to be with his mistress so he kills his wife, gets his mistress to help him sedate and kill her husband, and then expects to live happily ever after? How will this end? Stay tuned!
From the desk of the Chiefs two updates: Chief Corwin alerts you to the fact that E-ticketing is coming to an officer near you “Electronic ticketing is coming to KCPD this year. We anticipate that by September 2011, officers will begin issuing tickets from hand-held electronic devices.” Chief Casady gives you the 2010 overview of weapon offenses and more.
Two cold case bloggers were placed in the spotlights and justifiably so! “On Tuesday, Feb. 8, Iowa Cold Cases founder Jody Ewing was the featured guest on “Moebanshee’s Lair,” a weekly visionary talk radio show hosted by Moe Banshee. Jody and Moe talked about how the ICC website — the first of its kind in the U.S. — came to be and the resources it provides to victims’ families and the general public. Moe and Jody also discussed why it sometimes takes years for [known] killers to be charged with the crime, the importance of regularly re-interviewing those with any ties to the major suspect, and why it’s vital for law enforcement to maintain contact with the victims’ family members.”
I found some more interesting posts around the blawgs:
The case of Norma Lopez is featured on the “Kidnapping Murder and Mayhem” blog from true crime writer Robert Waters
Thinking about going back to school? Can it be done? Who does that? Well, follow Drew’s blog or Michelle’s to read how they are doing this! By the way, Michelle has a lot more mindmaps than the one on her blog. I just saw some great ones. She will be uploading them on her blog. If she doesn’t in about a week, poke her!
We have found a new avenue to hopefully get answers in the case of Moira Holly Branagan and no, you cannot find that in any of the comments or posts. I will update you on that as soon as we have results.
On February 25th from noon-1pm EST, Joe Giacalone and I will host the first ever “Cold Case Live Chat” on Twitter. There is great enthousiasm for this live chat so if you have a Twitter account and are interested in cold cases and forensics, tune in! Don’t have a Twitter account? Scroll all the way down in the above mentioned post for some instructions and tips.
Till the next Sum it Up!