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. "When I looked at her, I just knew. He died in the hospital three days later, and his murder would become the oldest such unsolved crime in the history of the county, according to the New York Post. When they did, the now-elderly killer presumably weary from looking over his shoulder for 45 years broke down and confessed to the crime. But years turned into decades, and police still didnt know who the suspect was. Both were signed "Jane Doe," and despite their best efforts, police were unable to identify the woman who would become known as the "Christmas tree lady" (via DC News Now). An investigation revealed shed been strangled elsewhere and dumped in the woods. Although her mother had a dark past that included drug use and prostitution, she was trying to turn her life around, Reyes said. until you are in jail. And I went running down the street like a wild woman until I found a place I could just collapse and cry.. 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. Unfortunately, Simcak will never be tried for the death of Madger, as he died in 2018.[9]. This facial reconstruction is an artist's rendering of what the Jane Doe may have looked like. 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. Now that they have identified Grims DNA, police will review other open cold cases to see if he was involved, Womer said. Please keep after. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. As for the moniker "Little Miss Nobody," Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes had only one succinct comment: "I hope we never hear that name again. Victoria Dahn-Minter, Dahns sister, said not knowing what happened almost consumed her all these years. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. A Warner Bros. 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. "They couldn't have possibly imagined the power that we would have at this time to actually use that to narrow it down to one person.". Amazingly, the cold case was solved within 20 minutes by YouTubers Adventures with Purpose (AWP). 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. These two cases were investigated separately until 2003, when the national DNA database CODIS revealed that samples from both crimes matched the same man. According to CNN, police were bereft of leads despite the local newspaper running a front-page story seeking information from the public until 15 months later, when a mysterious letter from a "concerned citizen" appeared on the editor's desk. A number of true crime updates came to light in 2022, with many cold cases solved through forensic genetic genealogy. Rita Curran was murdered in her Burlington apartment in 1971, and the case remained a mystery for years. Police say they identified her killer after he licked an. Raymond Moody, now 62, pleaded guilty during an Oct. 19, 2022, hearing in Georgetown, South Carolina. Nathan Trate said at the news conference. She was spending the summer working as a maid at a local motel and taking graduate courses at the University of Vermont. Behind every long-term missing person or unsolved murder case is a family who continues to look for answers. A gruesome double homicide opened the year of 1956 in Great Falls, Montana. 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. A number of true crime updates came to light in 2022, with many cold cases solved through forensic genetic genealogy. A photo of 20-year old Eve Wilkowitz from Project: Cold Case. In September 2022, Drummond died by suicide as the police were closing in a life that almost certainly would have been lived out in the slammer otherwise. I was happy to finally put a face behind the monster who took her from us, (and) upset that he will never be able to face consequences.. 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. During the following decades, Highsmith's family, police, and federal officials searched for her and followed up leads, to no avail. 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. 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. 60, College student with passion for genealogy helps solve Marise Chiverella cold case, Detectives: Joette Marie Smith taught us to not give up, Willoughby Police solve cold case with new DNA technology, Authorities Arrest Man Linked To 1975 Pennsylvania Murder By DNA Testing, Ten Cold Case Killings That Have Puzzled Police for Decades, 10 Years-Old Cold Cases That Were Solved by Cigarettes, 10 Famous Cold Cases That Could Be Solved In 2021, Top 10 Mysteries, Cold Cases & Puzzles That Were, Top 10 Best Movies Of The Last 10 Decades, Top 10 Best Comedy Duos Of The Last 10 Decades, 10 Abducted Children Who Found Their Way Home Decades Later, Top 10 Bizarre Elements Of The Elisa Lam Case, 10 Awesome New Discoveries About the Human Past from DNA, Ten True Tales from Americas Toughest Prison, 10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans, 10 Common Idioms with Unexpectedly Dark Origins, 10 North American Animals with Misplaced Reputations, Top 10 Creepiest and Strangest Homes on Zillow, Top Ten Worst Book to Movie Adaptations Ever Filmed, Ten Seriously Spooky Unsolved Spring Break Mysteries, 10 Significant Biblical Archaeology Discoveries, 10 Huge Songs You Didnt Know Were Written for Movies, 10 Amazing Animals That Can Detect Human Diseases, Top 10 Grim Cold Cases With Recent Twists And Turns, 10 Tragic Unsolved Cases Of Murdered Families, 10 Twisted Facts About Peter Kurten, The Vampire Of Dusseldorf, 10 Atrocious Experiments Conducted By Unit 731, 10 Loving Fathers Who Snapped And Slaughtered Their Families, 10 Seemingly Innocent People Who Were Secretly Monsters. Two years later, in 1989, a California woman, Renee Cuevas, was also found murdered. Discovery Company. when he met his second wife, Sarah Hepting. Updated 2023 Cable News Network. Many questions still remain about the case, but Holly has reportedly been in contact with her newfound family members. 3K Followers. Nothing, that is, until 2018, when an amateur cold case enthusiast came forward with one tiny detail after police reopened the case. 2. Also known as investigative genetic genealogy, this relatively new practice involves finding criminals via companies that collect consumer DNA samples for genealogy purposes. After more than three decades of questions and grief, Tamika Reyes finally knows who killed her mother. Legal Statement. March 17, 2022. All Rights Reserved. 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. This led investigators to believe that whoever wrote the letter had committed the homicide.. Updated DNA collected from crime scenes can now be uploaded to an online service that compares it to DNA submitted by people using companies like 23andMe to explore their genealogy. Blood pooled around his misshapen head, with his neck and head sustaining multiple injuries. On October 11, 2022, Marilyn Mosby announced that all charges had been dropped against Syed due to advanced DNA testing on Lee's clothing. The Burlington Police Department reactivated the case in 2019 when Lt. Detective Commander Jim Trieb put his whole team of detectives on the case. Online records show he is not eligible for parole in that state until 2030. Meanwhile, detectives sent the genetic evidence from the cigarette butt to a genealogy company to see if a bigger database of DNA could help them find the killer. The most incriminating evidence was a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body. Warren Robertson was Diane Lynn Dahn's neighbor inside the same apartment complex in San Diego, California in 1988. Before Drummond could be arrested, he died by suicide.[8]. The Hazelton, Pennsylvania, girl was found later the same afternoon, raped and strangled. Thanks to DNA and genealogy tracking, authorities announced Thursday, they have solved her case. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much By Hal Scheurich. Although police had fingerprints and photographs of Kelly, they believed that they had done all DNA testing possible in 2004. The coroner determined her manner of death to be strangulation. (The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). "They weren't going to bring Rita Curran back but they could at least bring closure," he said in an interview after the news conference. 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. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images. That letter happened to contain information that only the killer would be privy to, and saliva on the envelope was matched to that found on Kane's clothing. These familial matches led police to David Sinopoli, one of Beichlers neighbors at the time. Reyes was 9 when her mother was killed, and said she thinks about her every day. The DNA from the saliva matched what was found on Kanes clothing, authorities said this week. The letter writer also left his DNA when he licked the envelope. 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. Fortes name never came up over the years, police said, and they believe this was a random attack. Tamika Reyes was only nine years old when her mother, 26-year-old Anna Kane, was found strangled and left in the woods outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1988. Not long after finding Dean and Tina's identities, investigators began to search for Holly. [10], 1980s cold case murders solved, O.C. In 2019, with help from Parabon Nano-Labs, the DNA profile was uploaded to GED Match, a genealogical database. We share these cases to highlight their resolution and bring closure to the victims and the community . NEW YORK TEEN BRITTANEE DREXEL SENT EERIE TEXTS TO BOYFRIEND BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE, DEATH: REPORT. We will be examining cold cases that were solved in 2022. Its also become a valuable tool for law enforcement officers trying to solve old crimes. Authorities believe that Drexel's remains were buried on April 26, 2009, just one day after she was abducted. She was eventually dubbed the El Dorado Jane Doe.. On Tuesday,. 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. Rita Curran was violently murdered in her Vermont apartment in 1971 - and the case remained a mystery for decades. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. 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. 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. In the 36 years since, the case was passed to many detectives, all to no avail. Four-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarellis remains were discovered inside a box and abandoned in Philadelphias Fox Chase neighborhood Feb. 25, 1957. That changed in 2022 when those family members who had long lived in fear of Cates and his abusive, violent tendencies came forward to do a fresh round of interviews with police. In Alabama: A college student disappeared in 1976. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. On Tuesday, investigators said they had solved the casethrough modern DNA and genealogy technology. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig). Despite ongoing searches, his disappearance remained unsolved for over four years. 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. or redistributed. The suspects profile was created and uploaded into commercial genealogy sites that allow law enforcement agencies to participate, police said. Consequently, we will continue to ask ourselves what would have been or could have been.. Nearly 58 years ago, Marise Chiverella was murdered and her body left in a hole in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. ", An image of "Little Miss Nobody," a girl discovered in a remote Arizona desert more than 60 years ago. "The babysitter called the mother later, saying she really wanted the job, had a nice big yard and cared for other children as well.". Through further testing and genealogical research, the blood on Madgers clothing was identified as matching the DNA of one Stephen Simcak. Over the subsequent years, additional evidence was submitted for DNA testing and a significant advance was made in December 2021 when DNA traces linked to Jones were found on a jacket worn by Jacob Dewey at the time of his killing, the document said. A podcast dedicated to highlighting cold cases that have been solved and closed. Patrick Gilham pleaded no contest to murder of Roxanne Wood. He died in 1980 of natural causes, possibly a heart attack, according to police. The man who killed Rita Curran was a suspect for years and was questioned by police at the time of the murder. Over 230. This is the fifth time the Sheriffs Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. 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. In late March 1983, the body of Joette Smith was found floating in the San Lorenzo River. A Warner Bros. 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. Syed had been convicted of murdering his high school ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. A Danby, Vermont couple, George and Catherine Peacock, were murdered in September 1989. 8:33 AM EST, Sun February 13, 2022, 20-year-old man helps solve cold case from 1964. 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