The 25-year-old was stabbed over 40 times with her infant son in the room. 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. Nothing, that is, until 2018, when an amateur cold case enthusiast came forward with one tiny detail after police reopened the case. officials say In May 1987, 23-year-old Shannon Lloyd of Orange County, California, was murdered in her apartment. Wise died in a car crash in 1999, but that fact did nothing to diminish the power of the statement given by the FBI's Atlanta office in the wake of the resolution of the case. Mark Baron. Many questions still remain about the case, but Holly has reportedly been in contact with her newfound family members. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much He died in 1980 of natural causes, possibly a heart attack, according to police. 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. On July 10, 1991, a young woman was murdered at the Whitehall Motel in El Dorado, AK, by her ex-boyfriend and alleged pimp, James McAlphin. Another victim of a brutal murder who went unidentified for decades, Lina Reyes Geddes was found near a spring in the vicinity of Lake Powell, Utah, in 1998, shot, bound, and wrapped in a sleeping bag. What is everyone talking about? All of that stuff was preserved the way it should be, because they knew probably somewhere down the line whatever they collected could be that little piece of evidence (to solve the case), Trate said. It started as a hobby. 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. until you are in jail. However, using DNA from Goulds surviving relatives, police were able to determine with certainty that he was responsible for the double homicide and sexual assault of Lloyd and Kalitzke. They did, however, find that both were racing enthusiasts and attended stock car races at the El Cajon Speedway around the time of Dahns murder. Chiverellas siblings said that their parents never sought revenge or punishment to their daughters killer. [10], 1980s cold case murders solved, O.C. No one knew what had become of her. In order to find another match to Mr. Rita Curran was a 24-year-old second grade teacher when she was violently murdered in her Burlington apartment in July 1971. (The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Warren Robertson was Diane Lynn Dahn's neighbor inside the same apartment complex in San Diego, California in 1988. 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. Her killer, Eric Drummond, was a customer at her restaurant, and it's likely due to the lack of an obvious connection with Smith that it took police five years to even identify him as a suspect. Dahn had been bludgeoned and stabbed, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department. I couldnt believe it, she said, referring to the day police told her about the killings. The man who would eventually be named as her killer, Raymond Moody, had been a person of interest in Brittanee Drexel's disappearance as far back as 2012 but until just recently, they had nothing solid connecting him to the crime. 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. "Boy in the Box" identified as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli. You see, homicide cases as you likely realize from the six thousand true-crime documentaries which set you on this career path in the first place can often take a very long time to resolve. The family reunited with Melissa, who now goes by Melanie, in Texas on the night of Thanksgiving and learned that she had grown up just minutes from where she was taken. The case was re-investigated by Yolanda McClary, a genealogy research and crime scene investigator, in 2018, and four years of searching finally led to Kelly's true identity being uncovered. The young mother and dance instructors own father discovered her remains brutally beaten, duct taped and sexually assaulted in her vehicle parked outside the mall. In a statement announcing the closure of the investigation, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office stated its confidence that "the evidence in this case would support a conviction of Drummond for the murder of Joette Smith.". Due to decomposition, it was tough to determine the girl's age, let alone her identity; at the time, authorities believed her to be about 7 years old. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. To date, this cold case is one of the oldest to be recently solved with DNA evidence.[2]. 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. Detective Lt. Jason Moran, Cook County Sheriff's Office, Special Victims/Forensic Services Unit. Amazingly, the cold case was solved within 20 minutes by YouTubers Adventures with Purpose (AWP). COLD CASED SOLVED Once again, as with high-profile cases like the Golden State Killer murders and the Bear Brooke murders, the guys and gals at Parabon NanoLabs have uncovered the perpetrator in another cold case. Over 30 years after her murder, researchers and investigators identified El Dorado Jane Doe in May 2022. (Jeff Highsmith). Reyes said one of her fondest childhood memories was taking walks with her mother and seeing her suddenly dance to random music playing in stores as they passed. Cold case team says it's ID'd Zodiac Killer. I worked the streets.". Due to these advances, police have been able to close the book on many cold case murders, all thanks to criminals who left a little DNA before they even knew it could get them caught. She was a firecracker very outgoing, not afraid of anything, very honest, blunt and caring, she said. Unfortunately for criminals and murderers, this means its much easier to get caught, especially for those who committed crimes before DNA testing. She met with a group of Jesus People to retrieve the car and ask about her son, but says they told her he'd joined their group and was cutting off ties. A number of true crime updates came to light in 2022, with many cold cases solved through forensic genetic genealogy. Kane was reportedly working as a prostitute at the time she was killed and may have been meeting a customer, Womer said, adding that police are trying to determine whether it was Grim. 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. The results came back to match a man named Marcus Love. March 17, 2022. In addition, forensic genetic genealogy has given back the names of Jane and John Does who had remained unidentified for decades. On Tuesday,. It was obtained legally through a search warrant, Trate said. 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. In a statement, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department thanked "several generations of FCPD detectives" along with Othram, the company that supplied the genome sequencing technology and expressed its conviction that said the technology will help them to resolve many more unsolved cases in the future. When 53-year-old John Stagner was beaten to death in his bed in Orlando, Florida, in 1992, police honed in on a suspect almost immediately, according to Fox 35 Orlando: Ronald Cates, a friend of Stagner's who happened to be a drug addict. In 1978, he was arrested for recklessly endangering and harassment, police said. The most stubborn cold case in the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was finally cracked in 2022 thanks to an ingenious piece of investigative work. appreciated. She was stabbed 19 times, and prosecutors say evidence at the scene suggested a sexual motive. Unfortunately, no substantial leads were obtained in the case, and Beichlers murder went cold. This is the fifth time the Sheriffs Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. Before the judge overturned the conviction, prosecutors in Baltimore had asked for a new trial the previous week. DNA WINS THIS SEARCH! Behind every long-term missing person or unsolved murder case is a family who continues to look for answers. Joined by current and retired detectives and officials who worked the case, along with Chiverellas siblings, Brutosky detailed how police identified James Paul Forte, who died in 1980, as Chiverellas murderer. In 2007, Anita Knutson was a student attending Minot State University in North Dakota. 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. Physical evidence was able to close the deal in 2022. (Provided by family to Fox News Digital), "A woman answered the ad and agreed to meet her at the restaurant where she worked, but she never showed up," the NCMEC said. 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. Traditionally, investigators will take DNA from a crime scene and compare it to a suspects DNA or they enter the crime scene DNA into a national database, also known as CODIS, to see if theres a match with a known criminal offender. The man behind the abduction, rape and death of upstate New York teenager Brittanee Drexel pleaded guilty in October to a case that went cold after the 17-year-olds disappearance during spring break 2009. Drexel was last seen on April 25, 2009, while on a spring break trip with friends in Myrtle Beach, SC. Sharons parents died before they were able to learn their daughters fate. So far, theyve found no ties. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. All Rights Reserved. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM MELISSA HIGHSMITH The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo. These companies then send back information on their clients ethnic heritage, genetic health risks and family tree as well as a raw data file of their DNA. The woman took her fromher home in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 1971. 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. In addition to providing closure for the families and friends of the victims, every closed cold case serves another important purpose: Letting those who commit murder know that homicide investigators are the Terminators of law enforcement, and that (to paraphrase Kyle Reese) they will not stop EVER! Four-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos partially decomposed body was found over 500 miles from her New Mexico home July 31, 1960. The case gained national attention, even serving as the basis of an HBO special in 1983; justice, though, was a long time in coming. While it's undetermined who killed Dean and Tina, and whether it was their killer(s) who gave Holly up for adoption, family members have their suspicions. Anna Kane, in an undated family photo. The case went cold. Blood evidence believed to be the killers was found on the victims clothing but remained unidentified. 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. Two years later, in 1989, a California woman, Renee Cuevas, was also found murdered. The case of the young woman known as "Princess Doe" is just a bit unusual in that the man responsible for the crime was identified by police long before the victim was. Investigators said they identified Grim as the killer using genetic genealogy, which combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections among people. 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. The defendant bound Stacy Falcon-Dewey, beat her, orally raped her and likely shot her child to death in front of her before killing her. In an interview with the suspect in a California prison, Jones confirmed he lived near Renton from 1994-1995 but denied ever meeting or knowing Falcon-Dewey, the document said. 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]. Acting on the suspicions of her family in Mexico, authorities examined trace DNA from the ropes used to bind her, comparing it with DNA given by the family of Edward Geddes (pictured), Lina's husband, who had died by suicide in 2001. Now that they have identified Grims DNA, police will review other open cold cases to see if he was involved, Womer said. It didn't take long - in June of 2022, Holly was found alive, living in Oklahoma, after she'd been adopted as an infant. Police were hoping this was the break in the case they needed, but the DNA didnt return any matches. 2023 Cable News Network. It is a compilation of videos I have made. After more than 25 years, she was finally identified as Joyce Meyer, a woman who had drifted apart from her family after moving to Virginia in the mid-'80s. ' It turned out that during her life, the young woman had used a number of aliases, including Kelly Carr, Sharon Wiley, Cheryl Wick, and Mercedes. More evidence, including Curran's clothes, was sent to a lab in Florida in 2022 where they performed new DNA-extracting techniques. From Ted Bundy to Jack the Ripper,new DNA technology is solving murder mysteries, finding serial killers, and exonerating innocents. We have so many precious memories of Marise. Crimes have become much easier to solve if DNA is present. Thats where genetic genealogy came in. Solid forensic evidence finally came in May 2020. Dukat was only 8 years old, grabbed by a stranger and killed with a 20-pound rock in a shallow stream on her short walk home from school, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The most incriminating evidence was a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body. 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. 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. "We came into this like we come into all cases," AWP diver Doug Bishop explained. This, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and reviewing statements, led investigators to finally gather enough evidence for an arrest. The window screen was cut out of her bedroom window, but nothing was stolen, and investigators suspected the screen had been cut after the murder to make the window look like an entry point. In 2019, with help from Parabon Nano-Labs, the DNA profile was uploaded to GED Match, a genealogical database. Despite the abundance of blood at the scene, none of the DNA could be conclusively linked to anyone other than the victim. The main problem with positively identifying her was the fact that her fingertips had been cut off, and entreaties to the public for help yielded nothing, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. This is why, in order to be a successful homicide detective, one must be possessed of an absolutely superhuman, ridiculously dogged level of determination. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children described how Sharon was with cousins playing behind her grandmothers home in Alamogordo, New Mexico, July 21, 1960, when she was kidnapped. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. Investigators dont know much about Grim other than he lived in the nearby Hamburg, Pennsylvania, area. After what investigators called an exhaustive process, nine family trees were created with nearly 1,300 people connected to Robertson either through blood or marriage. Richard Cottingham and victim Diane Cusick. 3:28 PM EST, Thu February 17, 2022. To put the numbers in perspective, it is estimated that there have only been 117 billion people who have ever inhabited earth, the police statement said. They declined to elaborate how they obtained his DNA when hes been dead for four years. In 1971, Melissa Highsmith was 22 months old when a babysitter kidnapped her in Fort Worth, TX. More than 27 years after a woman and her son were killed in a Seattle suburb, authorities have charged a man in their deaths. Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripperand DNA: New techsolvingmurders. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 8:36 AM EDT, Fri August 26, 2022. Eventually, direct relatives of Robertson gave their DNA samples and confirmed his identification and matched the hair strand that was found in Dahns hands. NEW YORK TEEN BRITTANEE DREXEL SENT EERIE TEXTS TO BOYFRIEND BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE, DEATH: REPORT. Using data from Brittanee's cell phone, authorities were finally able to pinpoint the location of Brittanee's disappearance more effectively than in previous attempts, which led to the discovery of a surveillance video implicating Moody in the crime, as reported by Democrat & Chronicle. In October 2000, a sample of DNA was taken from underneath Dahns fingernails. The keys to the car appeared to have been dropped between the drivers seat and the door and were not readily visible, the document says. 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