You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! At the same time our family will always feel the emptiness and the sorrow of her absence, said Carmen Marie Radtke, Marises sister, during the news conference. A Warner Bros. But that doesnt mean there wasnt some connection that we havent figured out yet, Womer said. Curran's case was put on the back burner for years, making it the oldest cold case in the department. Anna Kane was 26 when her body was found on October 23, 1988, in a wooded area near Reading, Pennsylvania, with baling twine around her neck. Richard Cottingham, nicknamed the "Torso Killer" or "Times Square killer," allegedly admitted in December to killing five women on Long Island, New York, in the late 60s, early 70s. Over 65 years after a young child was found severely beaten to death, wrapped in a blanket and left in a wooded area of Philadelphia, the little one, nicknamed the "Boy in the Box," was identified earlier this month. The case was partially resolved in 2005 when Richard Kinlaw serving a 20 years-to-life sentence in prison for the murder of another woman confessed in writing to Princess Doe's murder. Syed had been convicted of murdering his high school ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. He was arrested in July 2022. Because Forte had been dead since 1980, DNA was taken from his exhumed body. Rita Curran was violently murdered in her Vermont apartment in 1971 and the case remained a mystery for decades. These familial matches led police to David Sinopoli, one of Beichlers neighbors at the time. This led investigators to believe that whoever wrote the letter had committed the homicide.. This is the fifth time the Sheriff's Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. In May 2021, police in Colorado said a man they had rescued from a snowstorm in. CeCe Moore, scientist and genealogy expert at Parabon Nanolabs, was able to match the DNA to William DeRoos within hours of research through genealogical records and public records. Physical evidence was able to close the deal in 2022. The Best New Cooking & Food Shows of 2022, 2022 Movie Moments That Punched Us in the Gut, True Crime Cold Cases That Had Updates In 2022. It was hurtful. The search for Melissa Highsmith had a rare happy ending. NYC 'TORSO KILLER PLEADS GUILTY TO 1968 MURDER OF LONG ISLAND WOMAN DIANE CUSICK, ADMITS TO KILLING 4 OTHERS. The woman allegedly offered her clothes and sweets, but she refused, at which point she was forced into the vehicle. Did you encounter any technical issues? Despite his confession, Kinlaw couldn't be charged with the murder until positive identification of his victim was made and with that accomplished, a first-degree murder charge was filed against him in July 2022. In this case, investigators were looking for relatives whose DNA matched those of the unidentified suspect in Dahns murder. Former Sen. Patrick Leahy,who was county prosecutor at the time of the murder, said he saw many gruesome crimes during his time as prosecutor but Rita Curran's family stayed in this thoughts for years after. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Cold case solved 34 years later when police trace DNA evidence from licked envelope | CNN Her slaying went unsolved for 34 years. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. She was only 9 years old. They found Knutson's body; investigators determined she'd been deceased for over a day. Through further testing and genealogical research, the blood on Madgers clothing was identified as matching the DNA of one Stephen Simcak. 2023 Cable News Network. The 17-year-old had left home in Chili, NY, without telling her parents, who were going through a divorce. One of the few people with keys to the apartment was Knutson's then 18-year-old roommate, Nichole Rice, who quickly fell under suspicion. 2. Forte would have been 22 at the time of the crime. The technique is used to create family trees based on genetic similarities to hopefully lead back to the owner of the unknown sample. 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Its also become a valuable tool for law enforcement officers trying to solve old crimes. Over 30 years after her murder, researchers and investigators identified El Dorado Jane Doe in May 2022. They just wanted justice. Cold case murder that inspired 'Twin Peaks' solved 100 years later: Book By Caroline Howe January 1, 2022 7:25am Updated After five years of research, a pair of "Twin Peaks" fans claim they. Dahn had been bludgeoned and stabbed, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department. In her pockets were two notes and some cash; one note clarified to police that the death had been a suicide, and the other directed them to use the cash for funeral expenses. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. Trieb said in a report that his team determined forensic evidence would be key to solving the case because of its age. There was just intimate details about where she was disposed of, how her clothes were displayed, stuff like that, Womer said. On April 25, she left her Myrtle Beach hotel to visit a friend staying at another hotel. After being interviewed by troopers in his Arkansas home in early August 2020, Branch died by suicide. On Tuesday, investigators said they had solved the casethrough modern DNA and genealogy technology. The following day, his girlfriend, 16-year-old Patricia Kalitzke, was found in another area of town, also killed with a bullet to the head, but with the added horror of a sexual assault. She described Dahn as an amazing person who played the violin and guitar. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much A man confessed to the crime shortly after. Antoinette Parks, Gwendolyn Harris and Madeleine Furey-Livaudais. Most of us love a good mystery - as long as it's in a book or a movie, and does not remain unsolved. The murder caused ripples of fear in a time when many Burlingtonresidents left front doors unlocked, and the killer remained a mystery for decades, despite the police looking into hundreds of tips. Police were hoping this was the break in the case they needed, but the DNA didnt return any matches. According to WRDW News, the case is believed to be the first time that both a murder victim and perpetrator were identified using DNA technology in the same case. Through that, police were able the get their first genealogical match: a very distant relative, possibly a 6th cousin, according to Brutosky. She was a firecracker very outgoing, not afraid of anything, very honest, blunt and caring, she said. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. One March day in 1983, she turned down a stranger's request for a date and a short time later, her body was pulled from a nearby river (pictured), shocking what was at the time a cozy, tight-knit community, according to the Los Angeles Times. There are cold cases, and then there is the murder of James Tappen Hall, a Montgomery County (Maryland) Sheriff's deputy who was moonlighting as a security guard at a local country club when he was shot in the club's parking lot in October 1971. She also plans to remarry her current husband so her father can walk her down the aisle. In 2020, genealogist Eric Schubert contacted the state police offering to help free of charge and lend his unique skill set of tracing down family trees to find matches. Richard Cottingham and victim Diane Cusick. After he'd moved to Texas, and his letters had stopped coming, his mother says she was contacted by a member of the organization about returning his car. To date, this cold case is one of the oldest to be recently solved with DNA evidence.[2]. "We determine if someone is missing and if someone is missing with a vehicle. Most cold cases do not get solved, so it is still fairly a spectacular occurrence when one is. A triple homicide committed 50 years ago has been solved after the Watauga County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina received information revealed by a Georgia inmate during a visit . "We came into this like we come into all cases," AWP diver Doug Bishop explained. In 2008, police were alerted to a potential match with the recently-obtained DNA profile of Brent Strutner, a local who had died by suicide in 1984 and who was among the original batch of suspects. Richard Cottingham and victim Diane Cusick. Despite the abundance of blood at the scene, none of the DNA could be conclusively linked to anyone other than the victim. Applying Modern Investigation Methods to Solve Cold Cases. When Diane Lynn Dahn missed her shift at the San Diego Transit Corporation on May 2, 1988, a coworker went to her apartment to check on her. A local newspaper, the Reading Eagle, ran a front-page story seeking information on Kanes death. (Yavapai County Sheriff's Office). LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. - The suspect in a 1983 cold case murder is believed to be a Florida sheriff's deputy who worked in several counties, including in Central Florida, according to the St. Lucie. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig). The 1980 murder of Asenath Dukat was one that shook the Columbus, Ohio community for a simple reason. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. "I was happy to finally put a face behind the monster who took her from us," she said, "[but] upset that he will never be able to face consequences.". The difficulty lay in the fact that not only was the available DNA evidence too weak to pinpoint a suspect, but, at the time, the victim herself was also unidentified. It was obtained legally through a search warrant, Trate said. In February 1990, about 15 months after she was killed, the paper received an anonymous letter from a concerned citizen with information that only the killer would know, police said. Surveillance footage showed Drexel leaving her friend's hotel that night, but never returning to her own. According to Mosby, the clothes had never been tested, and DNA evidence confirmed that Syed was not involved in his girlfriend's murder. In May 2022, genome sequencing technology became available to the Fairfax police department, enabling investigators to reach out to potential family members. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Detectives began watching Sinopoli, and before he boarded a flight at Philly International Airport, they collected a discarded coffee cup that provided the DNA sample they needed to nail him. More evidence, including Curran's clothes, was sent to a lab in Florida in 2022 where they performed new DNA-extracting techniques. Legal Statement. Beyer was adopted by a family friend and said he saw his grandparents and biological family as often as he could. Like so many other cold cases, the eventual identification of the killer hinged on one thing: The collection of DNA evidence at the scene of the murder, and its careful preservation. As with many such cases, the DNA evidence taken from Smith's body was insufficient to pin the crime on Drummond in the '80s, and although there was significant circumstantial evidence of his involvement, he walked free for nearly four decades. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. Jones arraignment is slated for March 1, according to the Superior Court clerks office. The answers that my family received is closure and closure is everything even after so much time had passed.. While not all breaks have led to arrests just yet, police have been able to use modern DNA forensics technology and genetic genealogy to link evidence from crime scenes to a certain person or group. The subsequent investigation led Santa Cruz County police to a man named Eric Drummond, who had reportedly previously asked Smith on a date and was declined. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Blood pooled around his misshapen head, with his neck and head sustaining multiple injuries. Case Breakers calls for police to conduct a DNA test to verify their findings; Fox News' Eric Shawn has the details. It may take years or even decades, but we continually seek justice for victims and their families.". Not long after finding Dean and Tina's identities, investigators began to search for Holly. 'Help me find my children': How race affects social media efforts to find missing kids. Grim died in 2018, but through an undisclosed method, police were able to obtain a sample of his DNA to match the evidence retrieved from the letter. Greg Harder of the Elkhart County Police noticed a possible piece of DNA evidence that was missed. In March 2022, a Chattahoochee County Grand Jury made the decision to indict 64-year-old Marcellus McCluster for the murder of then-20-year-old Rene Dawn Blackmore of Arizona. According to A&E, of the 285,000 cold cases in the United States, just one in five will ever officially name a new suspect. The case went cold after that. She was a mother. Authorities believe that Drexel's remains were buried on April 26, 2009, just one day after she was abducted. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. In May 2020, investigators started using investigative genetic genealogy, which combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy, to find biological connection between people. No one knew what had become of her. Upon further testing, Loves blood was found to be mixed in with other samples of Reeds blood taken from the scene of the murder. Dahns family, including Mark Beyer, her then 2-year-old son who has no recollection of the incident, spent 34 years wondering who murdered her and why, but thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, investigators were able to track down the suspect, Warren Robertson, a man who also lived in the same apartment complex as Dahn in 1988, according to investigators. The Hazelton, Pennsylvania, girl was found later the same afternoon, raped and strangled. A warrant was issued to obtain Branchs DNA upon his autopsy; the DNA obtained from Branchs remains was confirmed to be a match to the DNA on Baggens body.[6]. Investigators determined she was sexually assaulted, murdered and left in the hole with all her belongings. But, after 52 years, Curran's family finally has closure. Both families tried to report the couple missing, but were told by authorities that they probably didn't want to be contacted. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. When they did, the now-elderly killer presumably weary from looking over his shoulder for 45 years broke down and confessed to the crime. While initial tests done previously on the blood were inconclusive, advances in DNA testing allowed for the blood to be positively identified as belonging to George Peacock. No one deserves what happened to her.. Market data provided by Factset. Elkhart County, Indiana, is where, in May 2002, Robert Reed was found robbed and murdered inside his residence. Jon Kadner sent DNA swabs from Kalitzkes sexual assault to forensic genealogists at Bode Technology. With millions of users seeking to explore their genetic roots, the practice has become a big business. Anna Kane, in an undated family photo. We were fortunate enough to have most of the related family cooperate and provide us their DNA samples.. She was more than that, she was a victim. In recent years, companies like 23andMe and Ancestry have encouraged people to explore their genealogy by spitting into a tube and sending it off for analysis. Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer announced Monday that advanced DNA testing helped investigators solve the cold case homicide of 16-year-old Kim Bryant. In 1975, long before DNA evidence would become a factor in criminal justice, 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler was brutally stabbed to death inside her home. Ten days prior to the discovery of her remains, little Sharon was abducted by two people who had allegedly been stalking her. Meanwhile, Reyes still misses her mother. A strand of hair that was found in Dahns hand was processed, a profile in CODIS was created, but it didnt produce any leads even though it was consistent with the sample found underneath her fingernails. The cases of Sophie Sergie and Marise Ann Chiverella went unsolved for decades, but thanks to DNA a. In May 1987, 23-year-old Shannon Lloyd of Orange County, California, was murdered in her apartment. By. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Highsmith family had just moved to the Fort Worth area, and Melissa's mother placed a local newspaper ad seeking a babysitter. In addition, forensic genetic genealogy has given back the names of Jane and John Does who had remained unidentified for decades. While police determined the murders to be connected and despite following many leads, the case eventually went cold. The extensive family tree Schubert put together led investigators to James Forte, who had a record of violent sexual assault. 5 Decades-Old Cold Cases Finally Solved Twenty-three-year-old Tonya McKinley had gone to Darryl's Bar & Grille in Pensacola, Florida, to celebrate the upcoming new year of 1985 but never returned home to her 18-month-old son. After her death, Reyes aunt took her in and raised her while her two brothers moved in with their father. At the time of their deaths, Dean and Tina had a baby daughter, Holly, who was less than a year old. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Cates had developed a habit of borrowing and pawning power tools from Stagner, a city maintenance worker, in order to support this habit; even Cates' own family members had long suspected his involvement in the killing, but police were never able to gather enough evidence to support a probable cause warrant for his arrest. But in a Tuesday news conference, the Burlington Police Department announced that Curran's case was solved and the man responsible for the 24-year-old's murder, William DeRoos, died years ago. Investigators analyzed Kanes clothing and found traces of an unknown mans DNA. the one of the notorious Golden State Killer. In order to find another match to Mr. 2. A look at the best and most underrated in entertainment, music, and sports in 2022. The Riverside County DA's Regional Cold Case Homicide Team, which was formed in 2020, took the case on and sent a sample of the remains to Texas-based laboratory Othram Inc. According to local news station WFAA, federal kidnapping charges, which have no statute of limitations, could still be filed, but only if certain criteria are met, such as the kidnapper crossing state lines or using mail to conduct the kidnapping. This is fourth oldest cold case to be solved in in the country using genetic genealogy and the oldest in the state of Pennsylvania, according to state police Cpl. The night of July 19, the couple had a fight and William DeRoos went for a walk to get some air. I felt a little bit of everything when I found out, she told CNN. But while while investigators had Grims DNA profile, there was nothing to identify him because he had never been arrested for anything that required his DNA to be put into the system, authorities said. Patrick Gilham pleaded no contest to murder of Roxanne Wood. Tamika Reyes: "No child should ever have to grow up without their mom.". As it happened, around this same time, Cates was in the hospital in North Carolina, and as Florida detectives were shoring up their case, Cates blurted out to a nurse that he had killed someone in Florida decades prior. 2 min; DEC 14, 2022; 3 YEAR OLD COLD CASE SOLVED Police checked the database monthly against all other criminals that had DNA in the system, said Brutosky. Stacy Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Jacob Dewey, were found shot dead on October 28, 1994, in Renton, Washington. FOLEY, Ala. ( WALA) - Twenty-two years ago, a man's body was pulled from Styx River in . In this case, it appears justice will indeed be served; as of this writing, Sinopoli is being held without bail, awaiting trial for Biechler's murder. The cops never took their eye off of Drummond despite the fact that he left the state shortly after committing the crime, and when improved DNA technology allowed them to develop a sturdy profile of Smith's killer, they zeroed in on him in earnest. Police said Josephs parents have since died, and no one claimed the child or reported him missing at the time his remains were discovered. On September 19, 2022, a federal judge vacated the conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the 2014 podcast Serial and the 2016 HBO docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed, after 23 years. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. DNA had been found on Smiths clothing at the time of her murder, but it was only recently that new advances in technology allowed the sample to be tested and matched. Las Vegas police use DNA testing and genealogical research to solve 42-year-old homicide of teen girl, Its unfortunate my nephew never had the chance to know his mom, Dahn-Minter said during a police news conference. Highsmith disappeared from Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 23, 1971, when she was just 21 months old. Baldwin County cold case solved after 22 years. After more than three decades of questions and grief, Tamika Reyes finally knows who killed her mother. Her death was later ruled a homicide, though a cause was not determined. In the summer of 1960, the body of a young girl was found near a highway in Yavapai Country, Arizona. 2023 Cable News Network. The body of a young child tragically known as "Little Miss Nobody" was identified in February after remaining a mystery for over 60 years. Her father, Jeffrie Highsmith, submitted his DNA to the website, and he was matched to Melissa's three children as their grandfather. What is everyone talking about? Sharons parents died before they were able to learn their daughters fate. A new division at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, dubbed the Cold Case Homicide Squad, took over the investigation in 2005 -- but it would still be another 16 years until a forensic. Cottingham was known to approach his victims in mall parking lots and accuse them of stealing while imitating a security guard. Beichlers case was revived in 2019 when prosecutors released composite images of a man whose DNA was supposedly left at the scene. In April 1982, U.S.. Most recently, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 25 years to life in prison for the rape and violent murder of Diane Cusick. Leads fail to pan out, witnesses change their tunes or disappear altogether, and collected evidence fails to provide the iron-clad proof required for an arrest and conviction; for mere mortals, it can all become exceedingly frustrating. On April 25, she left cold case solved 2022 Myrtle Beach hotel to visit friend! A front-page story seeking information on Kanes death deaths, Dean and Tina 's,... That shook the Columbus, Ohio community for a walk to get some air occurrence when one.! 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