Monthly Archives: November 2010

A 12 member jury to decide the faith of Keshaun Merchant

Posted on November 30, 2010 | Comments Off on A 12 member jury to decide the faith of Keshaun Merchant


The Leeward Times- St Kitts and Nevis
The faith of Keshaun Merchant alias ‘Boogie’ of Pond Hill Gingerland will be left in the hands of a 12-member jury after the case is handed over to them. Merchant on Monday November 22nd answered to three charges of possession of firearm, possession of ammunition; and shooting at police officers (Constables Vernon George, Kendy Paul and Antonio Browne) with intent to do grievous bodily harm and pled not guilty to all three.

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Posted in Current Cases

Forensic experts on standby as fire burns in mine

Posted on November 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Forensic experts on standby as fire burns in mine


TVNZ New Zealand
Superintendent Gary Knowles has told media this evening that forensic and DNA experts are on standby to help identify the Pike River miners.

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Posted in Current Cases

Virginia could become 3rd state to use familial DNA searches

Posted on November 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Virginia could become 3rd state to use familial DNA searches

Fairfax Times
Virginia soon might become the third state nationwide to regularly utilize familial DNA searches, joining California and Colorado, according to the Virginia Crime Commission.

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Posted in DNA Legislation, Familial

District attorneys unsure about DNA testing consolidation

Posted on November 29, 2010 | Comments Off on District attorneys unsure about DNA testing consolidation

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Some district attorneys in Eastern Pennsylvania say they’re leery of the state police’s decision to eliminate DNA testing at their Bethlehem regional lab, leaving the Greensburg lab as the only state police facility doing that work.

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In Philadelphia, a bid give a lifer, 82, another day in court

Posted on November 29, 2010 | Comments Off on In Philadelphia, a bid give a lifer, 82, another day in court


Philadelphia Inquirer
Louis Mickens Thomas shuffled through Graterford Prison’s visiting area, slowly making his way to a small private room where he could escape the din and tell his story. His tall frame is stooped, his beard grizzled, and he has to lean in close to hear. At 82, he could have been the grandfather of the other inmates who sat on rows of plastic chairs, laughing with friends and family or savoring a moment with girlfriends.

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Posted in Cold Cases, Innocence Project

Turkey to establish DNA bank to better track sexual crimes

Posted on November 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Turkey to establish DNA bank to better track sexual crimes


Today’s Zaman
Turkey, a candidate for European Union membership that has a poor record regarding sexual crimes is planning to establish a DNA bank to better track assailants.

The parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission recently presented a report to the parliament speaker regarding the EU’s demands that Turkey establish a databank that stores the DNA of convicted sex offenders. The commission had asked Parliament to establish such a databank.

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Posted in Database

Rape charge against vindicated Houston man dropped

Posted on November 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Rape charge against vindicated Houston man dropped

Wandtv.com NBC
HOUSTON (AP) – The aggravated assault charge that kept an innocent Houston man imprisoned for 27 years was formally dropped Monday, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

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Posted in Innocence Project

Bembenek Attorney Requests New DNA Testing

Posted on November 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Bembenek Attorney Requests New DNA Testing


Wisn.com ABC news
MILWAUKEE — The fight to clear Laurie Bembenek’s name goes on after her death.
Bembenek died Saturday after battling cancer. She was 52.
The Playboy Bunny-turned-police officer was convicted of killing her husband’s ex-girlfriend in 1981.

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Posted in Cold Cases, Innocence Project

Aruba jawbone not Natalee Holloway’s, prosecutors say

Posted on November 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Aruba jawbone not Natalee Holloway’s, prosecutors say

MSNBC
ORANJESTAD, ARUBA — A jawbone with a tooth recently found on a beach in Aruba does not belong to missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, the prosecutor’s office there said Tuesday.

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Posted in Cold Cases

DNA links rapist to cold murder case

Posted on November 22, 2010 | Comments Off on DNA links rapist to cold murder case

KXAN Austin
SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Willie Roy Jenkins, 57, of California, was indicted Monday in a capital murder case in San Marcos that dates back to nearly 35 years ago, when 20-year-old Sheryl Norris was sexually assaulted and murdered in her apartment.

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Posted in Cold Cases

Age Estimation from Blood Has Immediate Forensic Application

Posted on November 22, 2010 | Comments Off on Age Estimation from Blood Has Immediate Forensic Application


Science Daily
ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2010) — Scientists have devised a method that would allow them to estimate the age of crime suspects or missing persons from blood collected at the scene of a crime.

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Posted in New ID Technologies

DNA break helped in rape cases

Posted on November 22, 2010 | Comments Off on DNA break helped in rape cases


Dallas Morning News
The attacker entered the Far North Dallas home through an unlocked back door in the warm, early morning hours on a Sunday in September 1989.

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Posted in Cold Cases, Current Cases, Innocence Project

Inmate wants DNA tested in rape case

Posted on November 22, 2010 | Comments Off on Inmate wants DNA tested in rape case


WXVT 15.com
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) – Prosecutors are opposing efforts by William Williams Jr., who was convicted in 1983 of raping Abbeville woman, to have his DNA be tested against evidence collected in the case.

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Posted in Current Cases, Innocence Project

DNA work could help families of missing soldiers

Posted on November 21, 2010 | Comments Off on DNA work could help families of missing soldiers


ABC 7 San Francisco
BURLINGAME, Calif. (KGO) — For some, it has been decades since their loved ones went missing in combat, but even so, their families do not stop seeking answers.

Representatives of the Defense Department’s POW-MIA office were in the Bay Area Saturday to meet with families.

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Posted in Database, Missing Persons

Crown ordered to release exhibits from Toronto murder case

Posted on November 20, 2010 | Comments Off on Crown ordered to release exhibits from Toronto murder case


The Toronto Star
In a ruling that could make it easier for victims of alleged wrongful convictions to turn to forensic science to prove their innocence, the Supreme Court of Canada has ordered Ontario’s attorney general to hand over exhibits from a Toronto murder case for testing at the province’s crime lab.

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Posted in Current Cases, DNA Legislation, Innocence Project