A year later, Robertson moved to Indiana and lived there until he died at age 39, in a house fire on November 25, 1999, investigators said. Now they're using DNA to help cops crack cold cases. Cottingham, now 73, has said he has killed as many as 100 people in New Jersey and New York and is already spending life in prison for the 1960 murders of several females. Trieb said in a report that his team determined forensic evidence would be key to solving the case because of its age. The Serial podcast, HBO series, and other court hearings and investigations over the years had brought up, among other issues, questions about Syed's lawyer, who was disbarred in 2001, the lack of DNA evidence pointing to Syed at the murder scene, and the reliability of a witness. 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. They declined to elaborate how they obtained his DNA when hes been dead for four years. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. Police checked the database monthly against all other criminals that had DNA in the system, said Brutosky. 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. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. The extensive family tree Schubert put together led investigators to James Forte, who had a record of violent sexual assault. Investigators were surprised when Dean's sister, after learning of her brother's death, asked, Where's the baby?. In October 2022, Moody was sentenced to life in prison plus two consecutive 30-year stretches, ensuring that the now-62-year-old will never walk free again. Market data provided by Factset. It was hurtful. In addition, forensic genetic genealogy has given back the names of Jane and John Does who had remained unidentified for decades. 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. The body of a young child tragically known as "Little Miss Nobody" was identified in February after remaining a mystery for over 60 years. The young couple was then positively ID'd as Dean and Tina Clouse, who had recently relocated to Lewisville, TX from central Florida. On Tuesday, investigators said they had solved the casethrough modern DNA and genealogy technology. Rita Curran was murdered in her Burlington apartment in 1971, and the case remained a mystery for years. The police don't give up.". I knew," Jeff Highsmith said. Highsmith disappeared from Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 23, 1971, when she was just 21 months old. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig). The detectives careful preservation of DNA evidence in 1988 provided a solid foundation for todays investigators to examine with new technology, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. "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.". 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. They found Knutson's body; investigators determined she'd been deceased for over a day. She also plans to remarry her current husband so her father can walk her down the aisle. 2023 Cable News Network. A number of true crime updates came to light in 2022, with many cold cases solved through forensic genetic genealogy. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Fortes name never came up over the years, police said, and they believe this was a random attack. In May 2021, police in Colorado said a man they had rescued from a snowstorm in. Thats where genetic genealogy came in. The Burlington Police Department reactivated the case in 2019 when Lt. Detective Commander Jim Trieb put his whole team of detectives on the case. 'Help me find my children': How race affects social media efforts to find missing kids. The most incriminating evidence: a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body that contained DNA evidence. 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 coroner determined her manner of death to be strangulation. Dean was reportedly involved with a Jesus People organization before his death. Fortunately, the profession seems to attract those who have this quality, as proven by the many decades-old cases which finally see their resolutions every single year. Jones is currently imprisoned for murdering a man in 1995 in California, prosecuting attorney Jessica Berliner said. Detective Lt. Jason Moran, Cook County Sheriff's Office, Special Victims/Forensic Services Unit. Schubert began genealogical work on the family tree of our match and very shortly we were provided names of relatives who were scattered throughout the country, a police statement said. Schubert, only 18 at the time, had assisted other police departments on several cold cases. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. According to Garden Grove Deputy Police Chief Amir Al Farra, she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. 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. 00:00 Intro00:18 Nacole Smith03:55 Jessica Gutierrez 05:35 Patricia Cavallaro07:05 Susan Wint. The letter writer also left his DNA when he licked the envelope. Nearly 58 years later, police solve cold case murder of 9-year-old Pennsylvania girl The men responsible for the killings were identified as Billy Sunday Birt, Bobby Gene Gaddis, Charles David. 2023 Cable News Network. Did you encounter any technical issues? Jeff Highsmith, Melissas younger brother, said his family had undergone tests through genealogy service 23andMe and received the results on Nov. 22 showing there was a match with Melissas kids. In this case, it led back to Rueben Smith. In an interview with Burlington police in the fall of 2022, Michelle DeRoos, who now goes by another name, said that her husband at the time had a criminal history and told her not to mention to police that he was not home at the time of the murder because they would try to accuse him of it. Jones arraignment is slated for March 1, according to the Superior Court clerks office. When the officers arrived, they found the pair lying in the middle of the roadway next to the mothers car, both shot in the head, the document said. Police were hoping this was the break in the case they needed, but the DNA didnt return any matches. All Rights Reserved. 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. He was identified as a suspect five years after Smith was found, but with no physical evidence to tie him to the murder, he was never arrested. 2. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The 1980 murder of Asenath Dukat was one that shook the Columbus, Ohio community for a simple reason. 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. This is the fifth time the Sheriffs Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. "When I looked at her, I just knew. 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. I felt a little bit of everything when I found out, she told CNN. 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. Her coworker discovered her lifeless body in her bedroom. After her death, Reyes aunt took her in and raised her while her two brothers moved in with their father. Jessica Baggen, a 17-year-old from Sitka, Alaska, disappeared in early May 1996. It was the rare case in which a fleeting moment of conscience, and not new technology, was the key to unraveling a three-decade-old crime. The results came back to match a man named Marcus Love. But it wasn't until 2022 that, you guessed it, advances in DNA technology finally allowed authorities to use an imperfect DNA profile to identify the victim as Dawn Olanick, whom it is believed Kinlaw murdered when she resisted his attempt to coerce her into prostitution. Her cause of death was stab wounds to the chest and her death was ruled a homicide, investigators said. For 34 years, Reyes, along with her two brothers and their grandmother, have wondered who killed Kane. In the world of unsolved mysteries, it is always satisfying to see some of. Over 4,000 pages of information have been compiled in this case over the years. 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. Theyre trying to determine whether he knew Kane, and have urged anyone who knows the nature of their relationship to reach out. Reyes knows shell never get the answers. From Ted Bundy to Jack the Ripper,new DNA technology is solving murder mysteries, finding serial killers, and exonerating innocents. (The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). "And after 50 years, they did.". The Pennsylvania State Police have declined to release the 1990 letter to the newspaper or to elaborate on exactly what it said. ' 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. But, after 52 years, Curran's family finally has closure. In 2019, with help from Parabon Nano-Labs, the DNA profile was uploaded to GED Match, a genealogical database. She also said DeRoos strangled her once, the same way Curran died. DNA WINS THIS SEARCH! ", "This is truly a mothers worst nightmare," she said. Thanks to these samples, a number of high-profile crimes have been solved in the past few years, perhaps most notably the arrest and conviction of the Golden State Killer. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. Reyes was 9 when her mother was killed, and said she thinks about her every day. Legal Statement. In 1988, state authorities in Georgia were presented with a crime that would seem nearly impossible to solve: The killing of 19-year-old Stacey Chahorski, whose body was found alongside a highway near the state's border with Alabama. A photo of 20-year old Eve Wilkowitz from Project: Cold Case. 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. 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. Greg Harder of the Elkhart County Police noticed a possible piece of DNA evidence that was missed. You know you have family, you know you have family who loves you, but sometimes you do feel alone all the time.. Diane Lynn Dahn died on May 2, 1988. A man confessed to the crime shortly after. part one: https://youtu.be/djTovLJF. 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. 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]. She was found two days later, sexually assaulted and strangled. Surveillance footage showed Drexel leaving her friend's hotel that night, but never returning to her own. 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. Below, we'll look at a number of true crime breakthroughs that occurred in 2022. Genetic genealogy uses an unknown DNA sample and compares it to databases of DNA to look for partial, but not exact, matches. The night of July 19, the couple had a fight and William DeRoos went for a walk to get some air. In the summer of 1960, the body of a young girl was found near a highway in Yavapai Country, Arizona. Vianne Falcon, Falcon-Deweys mother, told CNN affiliate KING on Wednesday that she was emotionally devastated by the loss of her daughter and grandson. Now, 'Little Miss Nobody' has a name. It started as a hobby. While Rice told police the two were best friends, others in their circle reported that the two weren't getting along, and that Knutson was afraid of Rice. Rita Curran was a 24-year-old second grade teacher when she was violently murdered in her Burlington apartment in July 1971. 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 order to find another match to Mr. According to Mosby, the clothes had never been tested, and DNA evidence confirmed that Syed was not involved in his girlfriend's murder. 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