Defrosting Cold Cases

New Hampshire Supreme Court to hear McLeod appeal

Vidocq — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:02:56 +0000

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has accepted an appeal by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in the case against David McLeod. Prosecutors have until June 15 to file a brief as posted by the Sentinel Source. McLeod is accused of setting fire to a multi-unit apartment building in the early morning hours of January 14, [...]

Book alert: “Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery” by John Leake

Vidocq — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:48:46 +0000

“Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery” by John Leake is my new “must read” for this summer. The book is about Duncan Alvin MacPherson (Feb 3, 1966 – Aug 9, 1989), a Canadian professional ice hockey player, who went missing during a short stay in Austria. John emailed to give me the heads up about the book. I [...]

The 1975 mystery of the man found in the Scioto River in Chillicothe, Ohio

Vidocq — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:24:55 +0000

Can you help the Chillicothe authorities in Ohio identify someone? In 1975, a man’s body was pulled from the Scioto River. He was naked and his ankles were tied with rope. The autopsy showed that the man died by drowning but the tied ankles leave authorities with many questions. Was this a murder? The biggest question that [...]

Recap #cclivechat May 18, 2012

Vidocq — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:12:04 +0000

Today, Ken Lang returned for another cclivechat related to his books, his cases used in the books and how he transitioned from cop to author. Ken is not just about crime control. He is an artist as you can see from his 3D skull reconstructions. Ken told us about his work methods, how he styled [...]

Connecticut Appellate Court to review 1987 murder of Bernice Martin

Vidocq — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:57:53 +0000

Great news: “The Appellate Court is scheduled to hear arguments Friday [today] in the appeal of 66-year-old Richard Lapointe, who was convicted of murdering Bernice Martin and sentenced to life in prison. Lapointe insists that DNA evidence shows he’s innocent and that his former lawyers were ineffective.” On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called [...]

I’m a winner!!!

Vidocq — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:28:32 +0000

I am the winner of the StretLaw™ ‘Blawg of the Month prize! The post that won was Part 1 in my April mini-blog tour. It was my first ever attempt at guest blogging on one topic for several hosts. I wrote down my musings about the historical mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask. It is [...]

Books that influenced me

Vidocq — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:01:57 +0000

This post was a long time in the “making” because I went back and forth with my decision and indecision to write this. Nice sentence, right? It reflects how I felt! I read these three books when I was decades younger and at that time, they made an impact on me. After reading them, I [...]

Los Tocayos Carlos

Vidocq — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:38:15 +0000

Los Tocayos Carlos … the namesake Carlos … The Guardian has an excellent article about a Texas capital punishment case involving a wrongful conviction, switched identities, an unsolved murder, evidence not tested for DNA, sloppy police procedures and an execution. “Carlos DeLuna was arrested, aged 20, on 4 February 1983 for the brutal murder of [...]

Sentencing in case of Keith Combs & Eugene Ellis

Vidocq — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Edward Jesus Elias and Leopoldo Chavez II, both 36, were found guilty of first-degree murder and special-circumstance allegations including murder during a robbery. They were teenagers at the time they killed Keith Combs and Eugene “Cliff” Ellis. Elias and Chavez were both sentenced to serve life without the possibility of parole. They both received consecutive life [...]

Recap #cclivechat May 11, 2012

Vidocq — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:25:33 +0000

Ian Rivers returned as guest to discuss cyber-bullying with us. It was a fascinating hour. We started with cyber-bullying shifting from being predominantly in instant messages (more private) to chat-rooms, emails, and social media so more public. We looked into behaviour and manners we apply in daily life. But somehow, on the Internet they can be [...]