Monthly Archives: August 2010

‘No ceremonial burial for the Iceman’, respond Otzi researchers

Posted on August 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on ‘No ceremonial burial for the Iceman’, respond Otzi researchers


The Heritage Key
In his article “The Iceman as a burial” appearing in “Antiquity” 84/2010, the archaeologist Alessandro Vanzetti of Rome’s La Sapienza University and his co‐authors reconstruct the position of the Iceman at his place of discovery on the Tisenjoch pass in South Tyrol, Italy. From this and based on his botanical investigations, he draws the conclusion that the Iceman did not die at the site of the incident: rather he died in the spring within his valley community and only later, in September, was brought up to the Tisenjoch and buried there.

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Posted in Ancient DNA

Police Make Arrest In 2001 Pa. Cold Case Slaying

Posted on August 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on Police Make Arrest In 2001 Pa. Cold Case Slaying

Pennsylvania AP News
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) ― A man living in a Harrisburg homeless shelter has been charged with the 2001 slaying of a woman in neighboring Cumberland County.

Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed says 55-year-old Douglas Smith is the man who killed 33-year-old Tina Myers in late 2001.

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Posted in Cold Cases

DNA leads to homicide arrest

Posted on August 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on DNA leads to homicide arrest

WDTN.com
Gary Rednour accused of killing Kimberly Paradiso

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Posted in Cold Cases

Venezuela exhumes Bolivar’s sisters

Posted on August 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on Venezuela exhumes Bolivar’s sisters

ABC News
Venezuela has exhumed the remains of two sisters of independence hero Simon Bolivar, hoping to compare DNA samples obtained from them to remains believed to belong to the Latin American leader.

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DNA test sought on knife in 9 year old’s death

Posted on August 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on DNA test sought on knife in 9 year old’s death

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY | A prosecutor wants to conduct DNA testing on a knife and clothing taken as evidence in the slaying of a 9-year-old girl near Jefferson City.

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Posted in Current Cases

Over 1,000 DNA Samples Taken By Police

Posted on August 30, 2010 by | Comments Off on Over 1,000 DNA Samples Taken By Police


Bermuda News
Attorney General and Minister of Justice Kim Wilson today (Aug 27) updated members of the public on developments that have taken place in relation to Bermuda’s DNA database.

Since September 2008, all persons detained for a recordable offence are now required under the PACE Act 2006 to provide, amongst other samples, their DNA by way of Buccal swabs. Hence, Bermuda police are steadily building up DNA profiles of arrested persons, which will assist the detection of more crimes in the future as the offender database grows.

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Guam needs DNA capability: Solved cold cases highlight importance

Posted on August 30, 2010 by | Comments Off on Guam needs DNA capability: Solved cold cases highlight importance


Guam
The Megofna conviction is a landmark event in Guam because it is the first conviction based on DNA evidence. The fact that the CSI was well-trained and during the initial investigation had noticed a scratch on the suspect and collected appropriate evidence was fortunate, because during the years that these old cases languished, science and technology improved by leaps and bounds. DNA has become the gold-standard forensic tool to help solve violent crimes across the nation.

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NamUs Database Provides National Information Clearinghouse for Missing Persons’ Cases and Unidentified Decedents

Posted on August 27, 2010 by | Comments Off on NamUs Database Provides National Information Clearinghouse for Missing Persons’ Cases and Unidentified Decedents


Government Technology
There are as many as 100,000 active missing persons cases in the United States at any one time. Family members and friends typically file missing persons reports with local law enforcement agencies in hopes of locating the person — or at least getting closure in the event the story doesn’t have a happy ending. And when medical examiners and coroners can’t identify the deceased, the person is added to the ranks of the nation’s John and Jane Does. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) estimates that there are approximately 40,000 unidentified human remains nationwide.

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Posted in Backlogs, Cold Cases, Database, Missing Persons

Lancashire forensics lead the way in solving crime

Posted on August 27, 2010 by | Comments Off on Lancashire forensics lead the way in solving crime


BBC News
A forensic scientist in Lancashire who helped to catch a rapist 21 years after the attack, has talked of her delight at his conviction.

Lesley Marshall – who’s now 51 – was sent to jail this week for raping a woman in Burnley in 1989.

The Forensic Science Service at Chorley matched his DNA from that attack to a sample given by him after a recent motoring offence

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Posted in Cold Cases

First use of DNA database pays dividends

Posted on August 27, 2010 by | Comments Off on First use of DNA database pays dividends

JoongAng Daily Korea
Korea’s first use of deoxyribonucleic acid, simply known as DNA, as part of its database is paying off, as officials from the scientific investigation division of the National Police Agency (NPA) said yesterday they were able to match 30 criminals to 47 previously unsolved cases just a month after the creation of the new division.

Police said they had collected 1,145 samples of DNA during the past month from those serving prison terms for homicide, rape, sexual assault against minors, armed robbery and arson.

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Posted in Backlogs, Cold Cases, Database

Mansfield murder trial: Forensics take forefront

Posted on August 27, 2010 by | Comments Off on Mansfield murder trial: Forensics take forefront

The Mansfield News Journal
MANSFIELD — What most likely was the second of four shots fired at 25-year-old DeCarrio Couley seems to have been the fatal shot.
That was the testimony Thursday from Dr. George Stebenz, chief deputy medical examiner for Summit County, on the third day of Christopher L. Brown’s murder trial.

Brown, 27, of 344 W. Sixth St., is accused of killing Couley on March 9 as the two walked on Sycamore Street near Sixth Street. The charges against Brown are two counts each of murder, attempted murder and felonious assault — all with gun specifications — and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

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Posted in Touch DNA

Expanding DNA database worthy

Posted on August 26, 2010 by | Comments Off on Expanding DNA database worthy

The Poughkeepsie Journal.com
Expanding the state’s DNA database generally has been viewed as an important way to fight crime, and with good reason.

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Posted in Database

DNA helps resolve crimes of Argentina’s Dirty War

Posted on August 26, 2010 by | Comments Off on DNA helps resolve crimes of Argentina’s Dirty War


Reuters
BUENOS AIRES, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Small red coffins are stacked inside a bleak office just blocks from Argentina’s Congress, a chilling reminder of the thousands of people kidnapped and killed during the bloody 1976-1983 dictatorship.

Inside the boxes are the bones of recently identified victims of the so-called Dirty War, waiting to be picked up by relatives for a proper burial three decades after they were murdered by their own government.

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Posted in Database, Missing Persons

RCMP labs fail in crime fight

Posted on August 26, 2010 by | Comments Off on RCMP labs fail in crime fight

The Times Colonist

If the Conservative government was serious about being “tough on crime” it wouldn’t tolerate a broken RCMP lab system that leaves officers routinely waiting months — or years — for critical results.

We are not talking about minor offences. In April 2009, Paul Rouxel was found dead in his Victoria apartment. Only this week, 16 months later, did police announce he was a homicide victim. Long delays in getting results from the RCMP’s Vancouver forensic lab played a major role in the destructive wait.

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Posted in Backlogs

New regional crime lab will expedite DNA and forensic testing

Posted on August 26, 2010 by | Comments Off on New regional crime lab will expedite DNA and forensic testing


Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Area law enforcement agencies soon can turn to their own regional crime lab for all of their forensic testing needs — saving them weeks or even months of waiting for results from overwhelmed state-funded labs.

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