Market data provided by Factset. Its also become a valuable tool for law enforcement officers trying to solve old crimes. ' 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. No one knew what had become of her. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Dean was reportedly involved with a Jesus People organization before his death. 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. Missing Melissa Highsmith's mother poses next to a composite sketch of her daughter's suspected kidnapper in a Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper article. It didn't take long - in June of 2022, Holly was found alive, living in Oklahoma, after she'd been adopted as an infant. 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 woman allegedly offered her clothes and sweets, but she refused, at which point she was forced into the vehicle. CNN . "She was a firecracker -- very outgoing, not afraid of anything," her daughter said. Police say they identified her killer after he licked an. After 1 p.m., her body was discovered in coal refuse pit. Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM MELISSA HIGHSMITH The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo. Also known as investigative genetic genealogy, this relatively new practice involves finding criminals via companies that collect consumer DNA samples for genealogy purposes. 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. Market data provided by Factset. She described Dahn as an amazing person who played the violin and guitar. We have so many precious memories of Marise. According to Garden Grove Deputy Police Chief Amir Al Farra, she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. 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.". The case was solved through modern DNA and genealogy technology and the careful preservation of evidence from the crime scene in 1971. In this case, it led back to Rueben Smith. Hall's daughter, happy to finally have closure, had a message for those facing the unsolved murder of a loved one: "Please don't give up. Melissa, who had been living in Fort Worth the whole time, met her parents for the first time on November 26 at age 53. "We determine if someone is missing and if someone is missing with a vehicle. That detail was a small mole on Geddes' right ear, which was enough for police to make a tenuous connection to Geddes. But if the person isnt a known offender, they wont be in the CODIS system and, therefore, no match would be present. And I went running down the street like a wild woman until I found a place I could just collapse and cry.. The most incriminating evidence: a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body that contained DNA evidence. Nine-year-old Marise Chiverella was walking to school in March 1964 when she was kidnapped. All Rights Reserved. Using genealogy techniques, detectives discovered that the murderer had ancestral origins in the small Italian town of Gasperina, and that only a couple thousand people with such ties lived in the area at the time of the killing. The circumstances around what led up to her death remain a mystery, 34 years later -- but DNA evidence points to her killer. Reyes knows shell never get the answers. A technician prepares a test solution for processing DNA samples at a Genesis Healthcare Co. laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, July 4, 2018. On Tuesday,. 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 . Today we take a look at 20 Cold Cases Solved In 2022. 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. This, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and reviewing statements, led investigators to finally gather enough evidence for an arrest. Discovery Company. until you are in jail. Genetic genealogys effectiveness in cold cases depends on the quality of crime scene DNA and whether it has degraded, State Police Trooper Daniel Womer said at a news conference last week. She was loved. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM, The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo illustration of what she was believed to look like from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. While the identification of Kane's killer provided a measure of closure to her daughter, Reyes was understandably disappointed that Grim had eluded justice by way of dying. "The babysitter called the mother later, saying she really wanted the job, had a nice big yard and cared for other children as well.". 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. Unfortunately, Simcak will never be tried for the death of Madger, as he died in 2018.[9]. 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. 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. A man named Steve Branch was identified as a person of interest. The most incriminating evidence was a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body. ". "We came into this like we come into all cases," AWP diver Doug Bishop explained. From Ted Bundy to Jack the Ripper,new DNA technology is solving murder mysteries, finding serial killers, and exonerating innocents. Trieb said in a report that his team determined forensic evidence would be key to solving the case because of its age. In 2007, Anita Knutson was a student attending Minot State University in North Dakota. Mark Baron. Dennis Perry, center, standing beside wife Brenda Perry gets emotional while thanking the team from the Georgia Innocence Project after they worked to get his release after 20 years behind bars, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Nicholls, Ga. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. 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. Brett Bowen sent DNA from Loves sexual assault for advanced DNA testing and forensic genealogy. (The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). For instance, some of the contents of Stacys purse were strewn about the vehicle including her wallet. Legal Statement. 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. Melissa said she had a troubled childhood: "I didn't feel loved as a child. Over 30 years after her murder, researchers and investigators identified El Dorado Jane Doe in May 2022. She was portrayed as this slain prostitute, like she deserved what happened to her, said Reyes, 43, who lives in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. Her cause of death was stab wounds to the chest and her death was ruled a homicide, investigators said. 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Curran's case was put on the back burner for years, making it the oldest cold case in the department. 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. 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. Beyer said he was blown away when he heard how his mothers case had finally been solved. In January 1981, the remains of a man and a woman were found murdered in woods outside of Houston, TX. The man who killed Rita Curran was a suspect for years and was questioned by police at the time of the murder. TheYavapai County Sheriff's Office said witnesses reported that a man, woman and child approached Sharon in a dark green sedan. On October 11, 2022, Marilyn Mosby announced that all charges had been dropped against Syed due to advanced DNA testing on Lee's clothing. On Tuesday, investigators said they had solved the casethrough modern DNA and genealogy technology. His remains were identified 47 years later. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. I couldnt believe it, she said, referring to the day police told her about the killings. 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. Cold Cases We Were Surprised And Relieved To See Finally Solved Rima Pundir February 23, 2022 2.9k votes 606 voters 31.4k views List Rules Vote up all the cold cases that were closed in unexpected ways. She was murdered around midnight on July 19 and was found strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted. But the ID had been stolen from someone else; the real Wick told HuffPost: "My sister lived at home and she called me up crying The police told my parents that I had gotten murdered and I was like, 'No, I'm fine. Her siblings on Thursday described her as a quiet, sweet girl that had aspirations of becoming a nun. In March 2022, 15 years after Knutson's murder, police arrested Rice (34 at the time) for the murder. In April of that year, their 17-year-old daughter Brittanee took off for spring break, without her parents' permission, to Myrtle Beach, Florida, and never came home (via Democrat & Chronicle). Upon further testing, Loves blood was found to be mixed in with other samples of Reeds blood taken from the scene of the murder. Ten years later, investigators opened Dahns case again, looking for new leads and use of new technology. Hepting said in an interview with Burlington police that DeRoos once stabbed a woman in front of Hepting, and later said he thought he stabbed Hepting. 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