Another Cold Case Solved, by jay7777

[Jay7777]

Kind of a different one:

OSBI, Texas police solve 19-year-old cold case

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/osbi-texas-police-solve-19-year-old-cold-case/ar-AAWhv9I?ocid=iehp&li=BBnbfcL

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, along with the Texas police, solved a 19-year-old cold case.

The suspect was accused of robbing several banks and shooting a police officer. Authorities said the suspect was living in Oklahoma City the whole time.

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Mark Long, the suspect, got away with his crimes for almost 25 years and he was hiding right in Oklahoma City when he wasn’t robbing banks. Officials now say they know he shot an officer back in 2003.

"As I like to say, one of Mark's bullets hit me, but the other four of them missed," said Cpt. Jeff Garner, North Richland Hills Police Department.

In 2003, Garner took a bullet in his leg while chasing a Jeep connected to a recent bank robbery. Investigators now know that suspect was Mark Long of OKC.

"19 years, one month and nine days later, I identified Mark Long in a photo line-up," Garner said.

For years, Long was living in Oklahoma City at his home on Southeast 12th Street. According to the OSBI, he hit seven different banks across Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas between 1998 and 2003.

OSBI got involved in the effort after NHRPD did some DNA testing.

"They had recovered some DNA from one of his seven bank robberies, and they submitted that to do genetic genealogy," said Brook Arbeitman, OSBI.

A search warrant was granted for investigators to go into his home. They found a matching gun and items used for disguises.

Investigators even tracked down the Jeep from the wild chase in 2003.

"The gun that was recovered in his home, evidence from the Jeep, where you can see where the officer fired into his tailgate," Arbeitman said.

Some of the robberies were big pay-days for Long and court documents said his biggest haul was $215,000 at a bank in Wichita, Kansas, in addition to the other robberies.

"I think he got away with about 300-thousand dollars, maybe a little more," Arbeitman said.

Garner chose to be compassionate at a recent press conference.

"I recognize the Long family is grieving, the Mark who shot me is not the Mark they knew," Garner said.

The Captain extended grace to Long’s family.

"In many ways, these recent events have made them victims of Mark's actions, the same as it did the employees of seven different banks," Garner said.

Investigators have confirmed that Mark Long committed suicide.

After this story aired on April 15th at 10 p.m., it was brought to KOCO’s attention that Long was a former employee of the station. Mark Long worked in the production department at KOCO from December 2011 to August 2014 when he resigned from his position.

[johnnyhands1]

Regarding the Mark Long case above, here's another article that goes into more detail about the detective work, and it seems he committed suicide in early April 2022 when they started investigating him (the other article didn't make that clear):


www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/north-richland-hills-police-cold-case-dna-technology-suspect-died-before-arrest/287-28c78ffe-a903-4375-8a76-5cb63648fad0

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North Richland Hills police solve 19-year-old cold case with advanced DNA technology, but suspect died before arrest
North Richland Hills police detectives announced advanced DNA technology allowed them to identify the so-called "Cowboy Hat Bandit" as Mark Long.

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — Detectives with the North Richland Hills Police Department announced they believe they’ve solved a 19-year-old cold case.

On Friday, members of the police department held a press conference and displayed some of the evidence that brought them to identifying the man accused of shooting and injuring then-officer Jeff Garner.

“It has been an overwhelming week,” said Capt. Jeff Garner, who still works for NRHPD. “I have been carrying this weight of this event for 19 years.”

Garner was shot in 2003, after attempting to stop a driver who, unknown to Garner, had just robbed a bank in Watauga, Texas, police said.

Police said the driver, nicknamed the "Cowboy Hat Bandit" was linked to seven bank robberies from 1998 to 2003, totaling more than $296,000.

He got away and left many questions unanswered, according to police.

In 2015, NRHPD detective Erik Whitlock picked up the investigation after the case sat cold for many years.

“Nineteen years went by with this family wondering why? Who?” Whitlock said.

Whitlock described the passion he felt for solving the case, investigating the case was his way of getting justice for Garner, whom he described as a colleague and friend during the press conference.

Advanced DNA technology led detectives to Mark Long, an Oklahoma resident, police said.

Whitlock submitted DNA evidence from several of the robberies to Identifinders International for a forensic genetic genealogy examination. In December 2021, forensic genealogists linked the DNA to Long, whom detectives identified as a suspect, according to police.

Undercover detectives traveled to Oklahoma in February 2022 and began surveillance on Long, police said.

Police said that after Long dined at a restaurant, detectives obtained DNA from the items Long used at the restaurant. Those items were submitted and examined alongside previously collected DNA evidence in three of the bank robberies, and they matched, according to police.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation obtained search warrants for Long’s home, vehicle and a previously-owned Jeep police believe Long used during a bank robbery in Watauga, police said.

Police said NRHPD detectives and OSBI searched the home and found a revolver in his bedroom.

Police said the weapon matched the description of the revolver allegedly used during the 2003 shootinh and that it was still loaded. Police said the bullets inside of the weapon matched the projectiles located at the crime scene of the 2003 shooting.

Police said they also tracked down Long’s Jeep and found that it had body filler repaired on the tailgate. Police said the damage on the tailgate was consistent with a bullet hole from when then-officer Garner returned fire.

“Against all odds, he still had the weapon he used to shoot Garner and in all bank robberies,” Whitlock said.

NRHPD Chief Jimmy Perdue described the finding as a major breakthrough.

“This is what policing is about, that we always pursue no matter how long it takes to get it done,” Perdue said.

NRH arrest warrants were secured for Long and included several charges, including attempted capital murder of a peace officer, aggravated robbery and two counts of robbery, with a total bond of $675,000.

The story doesn’t end there.

This month, as police geared up to serve the arrest warrants, they learned that Long was found dead near a cell tower in southeast Oklahoma City, police said.

NRHPD detectives said they believe Long died by suicide, but the final cause of death has yet to be released by the Oklahoma Medical Examiner.

“He took himself only things he will know. The why. Why did he do this?” Whitlock said.

Detectives may never know the why, but they believe the cold case is solved, police said.

“I have received every answer I ever wanted,” Garner said.

He said he can finally begin the path toward healing.

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[Jay7777]

Man may have committed sexual assault in at least 6 states, police say

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man-may-have-committed-sexual-assault-in-at-least-6-states-police-say/ar-AAWldRr?ocid=iehp&li=BBnb7Kz

Police in Colorado say a man arrested last month in connection with two sexual assaults may also have committed assaults in at least five other states over the last decade. Demetrius Wooden, 34, was arrested in Grandview, Missouri, on March 21, and soon after extradited to Colorado, where police suspect he committed sexual assaults in June and September 2021.

The September assault allegedly occurred after a concert at a stadium in Commerce City, Colorado, CBS Denver reports. The June incident allegedly took place about four miles away in Denver's Gateway neighborhood.

In an April 11 press release, the Denver Police Department said detectives think Wooden "may have committed additional sexual assaults in various states during the past 10 years, to include, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Minnesota and the mid-western states. He may have also been in additional states."

Detectives are seeking information from the public, and the investigation is ongoing.

Police did not release details about the additional crimes for which Wooden is suspected. He is being held on $70,000 bond, according to jail records.

[johnnyhands1]

Here's one from last month in California. The 1994 Cheri Huss murder was solved using forensic genealogy, using DNA from both saliva from bite marks on the victim and blood from the killer left when the victim fought back.

rivcoda.org/community-info/news-media-archives/gardena-man-arrested-and-charged-in-1994-cold-case-murder-of-woman-in-desert-hot-springs

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Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Gardena man arrested and charged in 1994 cold case murder of woman in Desert Hot Springs

RIVERSIDE – Nearly 28 years ago, Cheri Huss was found stabbed to death inside her Desert Hot Springs apartment. Her case went cold until last month.

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Team, which is led by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, has arrested a Gardena man who the DA’s Office has now charged with Cheri’s April 1994 murder.

Sharron Eugene Gadlin, DOB: 5-22-73, has been charged in case RIF2201094 and is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Dept. 53 at the Hall of Justice in Riverside.

Gadlin was arrested the evening of Friday, March 4, 2022, when investigators pulled over his car at 135th and Western Avenue in Gardena. He was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center in lieu of $1 million bail.

“I hope Cheri and her family will finally get the justice they deserve and have waited so long for,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin said. “Our cold case team of investigators will continue to use cutting edge technology to solve old murder cases across Riverside County. Our prosecutors will continue to vigorously prosecute these murderers until we get justice for their victims.”

Cheri Huss was found murdered in her apartment on Parma Drive in Desert Hot Springs on April 24, 1994. She had been stabbed multiple times and was bitten by her killer. Homicide investigators also found that she had fought off her attacker which caused the person to leave blood, determined by testing to be from a male, at the crime scene. Forensic testing confirmed that the blood from the male matched the DNA of saliva left behind in the bite marks on the victim.

After years of investigation and regular attempts to match the suspect’s DNA profile to a profile in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that came up with no match, Cheri’s case unfortunately went cold. Then, in February 2022, using forensic genetic genealogy the Regional Cold Case Team was able to identify Gadlin as a person of interest in the crime and discovered he lived in Thousand Palms in 1994, about 12 miles from the murder scene.

Cold case investigators sought and were granted a warrant to obtain a saliva sample from Gadlin which was done on Feb. 14, 2022. Four days later, on Feb. 18, investigators received confirmation from the state Department of Justice lab that there was a DNA match of the saliva to the DNA profile of the person suspected of murdering Cheri Huss.

Regional Cold Case Homicide Team investigators ask that anyone who may have information about this case call [phone] or leave a tip on the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department website homicide tip form found here: www.riversidesheriff.org/528/Contact-Us

The Regional Cold Case Homicide Team is comprised of members of the DA’s Office Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Department, the FBI, and the Riverside Police Department. The team is available to assist in the investigation of cold case homicides for all Riverside County law enforcement agencies.
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[Jay7777]

Technology that cracked 1987 Va. cold case could 'do away with serial killers' expert says

wjla.com/news/local/new-technology-used-to-crack-1987-va-cold-case-could-william-clark-rape-murder-crime-away-with-serial-killers-virginia-fairfax-major-ed-ocarroll-assault#:~:text=%22I%20really%20believe%20that%20we%20can%20do%20away,a%20technique%20that%20is%20about%20four%20years%20old.?msclkid=b6cd25e2c31211ec96d5d47a0b51f63e

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WJLA) — A genetic genealogist was able to break open a cold case using DNA evidence collected in 1987.

It would prove to be the crucial clue leading to the arrest of a man wanted for rape.

"He lived amongst us," said Major Ed O'Carroll with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia. "For 35 years, this victim always wondered who the offender was."

Through all of the years sitting in the FBI's database, it never got a match; but over the years, the technology and research methods have evolved.

"I really believe that we can do away with serial killers and serial rapists because we can identify them much more quickly," said CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist for Parabon NanoLabs.

Moore was instrumental in cracking the cold case with a technique that is about four years old.

"These people that have been able to stay under the radar, and not be a person of interest in these cases, will be identified so much more quickly," Moore said.

Police say William Clark, 59, is one such person who has managed to stay under the radar, that is until he was arrested after driving into work Monday.

In the time since his alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old, Moore was able to go on with his life.

He got married, had a family and was living in Ashburn and working in Fairfax County.

He was still in his 20s when police say he assaulted the teen.

"It was a very sophisticated ruse," said O'Carroll.

Police say Clark posed as a popular radio host and lured the victim to the radio station with the promise of prizes.

"Sadly, it worked," said O'Carroll. "Sadly, the victim was terrorized back in 1987. So, we think there may be other victims out there that didn't come forward."

Moore was finally able to help police focus on and eventually arrest Clark by using information collected on two DNA testing sites, Gedmatch and FamilytreeDNA.

Those are the only two sites that allow law enforcement to match against their databases.

Moore identified Clark's distant relatives and from there dug through census records, birth certificates, marriage licenses, newspapers and even social media to reconstruct his family tree.

"We found connections to both his mother's side and his father's side, and he was the only one who fit in every way," said Moore.

Even after a suspect has been identified, police still need to conduct a thorough investigation and match DNA through their traditional methods.

In a court of law, a match through genetic genealogy is taken as a very good tip and not probable cause.

Still, the process that pinpoints these suspects could change law enforcement forever.

"It really is CSI 2022," said O'Carroll. "It's the future of law enforcement."

"So, anyone out there who has perpetrated a crime like this, I do think they should be worried because even if they haven't been identified for years or decades, we are closing in on them," added Moore.

Moore also said the technique can be used to exonerate someone who has been wrongly convicted.

[Jay7777]

I think, if you were going to get a Criminal Law Degree, this is the folder you should read!

[Jay7777]

An interesting read:

How a College Student Cracked the 57-Year-Old Unsolved Murder of a 9-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl

people.com/crime/college-student-cracked-57-year-old-unsolved-murder-of-9-year-old-pennsylvania-girl/#:~:text=How%20a%20College%20Student%20Cracked%20the%2057-Year-Old%20Unsolved,%7C%20Credit%3A%20Courtesy%20Ronald%20Chiverella%3B%20courtesy%20Eric%20Schubert?msclkid=84b8fb36c58011ec9b895c5685b5ae6b

The incredible work of 18-year-old Eric Schubert helped bring long-awaited justice to Marise Chiverella's family

For 57 long years, the death of 9-year-old Marise Chiverella was one the most notorious unsolved murders in Pennsylvania. The third grader had set off by herself on the 10-minute walk to St. Joseph's Parochial School in blue-collar Hazleton at around 8 a.m. on March 18, 1964, without any of her four siblings because she wanted to get there early, to deliver cans of pears and beets to Sister Josephine in honor of her teacher's Feast Day.

At about 1 p.m., a man teaching his teenaged nephew how to drive near an abandoned strip mine turned garbage dump noticed what they thought was a large doll lying on top of the refuse.

It was Marise. Her hands were tied together with one of her shoelaces and her ankles with the other. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

Among those investigated by the Pennsylvania state police were a priest, who had been suspected in a murder in Bristol, Pa., as well as a local exhibitionist who committed suicide after he was asked to come in for a polygraph test.

Over the decades, more than 250 members of the Pennsylvania State Police worked the Chiverella case — amassing over 4,700 pages in the police file — but they never came up with a single arrest.

"It seemed like everybody could have committed this crime," Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Mark Baron tells PEOPLE. "There were a lot of messed up people back in the early 1960s."

Marise's parents, Carmen and Mary, died without knowing who had killed their jump-rope loving, organ-playing, little girl who aspired to be a nun.

"She and I used to tease each other, but we had a special relationship between us," says Marise's older brother Ron. "Little sister and I was the older brother. I used to get my back scratched, so she'd scratch my back, and then we would all take advantage of her on that one too. She used to bite her nails, but she would scratch our backs and so forth. She got to a point where she learned that she would be able to ask for a quarter or nickel back then for her time. But she did it out of love."

After her death, says Ron, the family was "in a state of desperation."

Ron vividly remembers the day after they found Marise, back in 1964. "The house was in chaos," he says. "People screaming, crying, rolling around, literally, on the floor, some of the aunts, because of the horror of it all. My mother was totally in shock. The family doctor was there administering some type of sedative to her. My father was like a zombie. It was horrible, even to just try and describe."

Then, about two years ago, the Pennsylvania State Police decided to try solve the case with the help of a "kid." The "kid" was 18-year-old college freshman Eric Schubert, who did genealogical research as a hobby, mostly helping people draw their family trees but also working with law enforcement to search for suspects.

Schubert, who is now a junior history major at Elizabethtown College about 80 miles from Hazleton, had read online in the local newspaper about the police's efforts to find Marise's killer, so he reached out to offer his services. "I just figured I'd send them an email and say, 'I'd love to help if I'm not stepping on any toes, because I like to think I know what I'm doing'," Schubert says.

However, before he got to work with the state police he had to be vetted first. Investigators set up a meeting at a coffee shop on campus. "We went into that meeting, and Mr. Schubert came prepared like it was a job interview," says Baron, the lead investigator on the Chiverella case. "He had pretty much a portfolio for us."

Also making a big impression: his drink order. "We offered to buy him a coffee and he said, 'Oh, I don't drink coffee. I'll take an apple juice,'" says Baron. "We're like, this kid's going to drink apple juice here and he wants to help us solve a homicide?"

Still, Baron says, after listening to what Schubert had to say, "we walked away thinking the kid was on point."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

"It reenergized a lot of people and gave us new hope, and then it was full speed ahead," says Baron. "He's calling my phone here in the office, and then later on it was text messages, and cell phone calls. But I would say emails multiple times a day. Once we brought him on board, he didn't stop."

After spending as many as 20 hours a week for 18 months researching every possible lead Schubert zeroed in on a local bartender named James Forte, who had a criminal record but was never considered a suspect. Forte died of natural causes in 1980 at age 38.

The Forte lead turned out to be compelling enough to convince a judge to approve the exhumation of his body. A DNA sample removed from clothing Marise wore the day she died was a positive match to Forte's on Feb. 3. "I think the odds of the DNA not being his were one in something septillion. So that's 24 zeros," Schubert says.

After the confirmation, police held a press conference to announce that they'd closed the case. Schubert skipped three classes to attend the conference. "We took Eric out for milkshakes that day," says Baron, 39. "He was my partner in this investigation. He's top-notch." "I was the big brother," he adds about their dynamic.

Schubert says that using genealogy to hunt for a killer is an enormous process of elimination. In this case, the state police had the killer's DNA uploaded into CODIS since 2007 but there were no matches to any felons in the databank. In 2019, the state police then uploaded the crime scene sample into a genealogy website, which spat out hundreds of possibilities. From there, Schubert would research possible relatives and then send them to Baron who would then track them down and rule them out through DNA.

"He was good to give us information and a new route to go down every day," says Baron. "He was giving me names and saying, 'Hey, can you go ahead and look into seeing what you can find out about this person or that person?' How he came up with the names that he came up with, I have no idea. The voodoo that Eric Schubert does is amazing."

Baron says it also helped that the people they reached out to for information and to collect DNA samples were very cooperative. "Nobody ever went ahead and said, 'I'm not helping you. Don't ever call me again. Everybody was willing to help."

For more on the murder of Marise Chiverella — and the teen who found her killer — subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands now.

Schubert built about 50 complete family trees to find a connection to Hazelton. He finally located a man who had immigrated from Italy to Hazelton in 1904 — Forte's grandfather. Schubert then looked for descendants who had been in the Hazleton area when Marise was killed. Forte and his brother soon became prime suspects, but both were dead. Fortunately, when the police tracked down the brother's wife, she had an old hairbrush from her husband, and a DNA test of it ruled him out — which left James Forte. "I was just so relieved for the family," says Schubert.

Ron says he is thankful to the state police and Schubert for solving his sister's decades old murder. "There's an emptiness there that's never going to change," he says. "But now that we do know, that helped close that door, which is a blessing."

[Jay7777]

I like the comment:

"It seemed like everybody could have committed this crime," Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Mark Baron tells PEOPLE. "There were a lot of messed up people back in the early 1960s."


Seems like it carried over into the 1970s & 1980s as well. I wonder what was wrong with people in this time period?

[Jay7777]

And more on the criminal:

James Forte:

Who was James Paul Forte? Suspected killer left few clues

www.timesleader.com/news/1539205/who-was-james-paul-forte-suspected-killer-left-few-clues?msclkid=962e0583c58111ecabbec308d2f01f03

State police at Hazleton released information of what they know about James Paul Forte, whom they publicly named Thursday as the assailant in the 1964 kidnapping and murder of 9-year-old Marise Ann Chiverella.

Investigators said they know Forte was arrested on sexual assault charges in 1974 and on a reckless endangerment offense in 1978. They also announced Forte was a bartender who died at his place of employment, a Hazle Township ballroom, from heart failure on May 16, 1980. He was 38 when he died.

Other than his two unrelated criminal arrests, Forte appears to have lived a muted life.

During Thursday’s news conference where investigators said DNA evidence and genetic genealogist, Eric Schubert, were able to identify Forte as Marise’s killer, a review of genealogy sites and newspaper archives indicate Forte kept to himself.

Scanning through the 1959 Hazleton High School yearbook, Forte is only listed one time for his senior picture, the same photograph state police released during the news conference.

Beside Forte’s picture, a description says, “Tall, blue-eyed and handsome … loves to sleep … sports are his favorite, especially baseball … future undecided.” It lists Forte’s education as “Vocational.”

Forte is not shown or listed anywhere else in the 1959 yearbook among school clubs, athletics or dances.

A search on ancestry.com produced a result that Forte enlisted in the U.S. Army on Oct. 16, 1959, and was discharged Sept. 28, 1962. Attempts to learn if Forte’s military service discharge was honorable or dishonorable were unsuccessful.

Court records of Forte’s 1974 arrest were obtained by the Times Leader Friday.

State police charged Forte on April 3, 1974, the same day a then 23-year-old woman reported he sexually assaulted her inside his Chevrolet on Stockton Mountain Road in Hazle Township.

A search warrant was served on Forte’s vehicle where they retrieved hair samples from the front seat and mud indicating the car had been driven in the area where the assault took place, court records say.

Forte was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and aggravated assault and released on $5,000 bail.

When the case reached county court, prosecutors withdrew the sexual assault charges and Forte pled guilty to aggravated assault on Sept. 18, 1974.

The late Judge Bernard C. Brominski on Oct. 2, 1974, sentenced Forte to one year special probation to be supervised by the Pennsylvania Probation and Parole Office. He was ordered to pay the woman’s hospital bill, court records say.

Records on Forte’s arrest in 1978 on charges of reckless endangerment and harassment could not be located Friday.

They also announced Forte was a bartender who died at his place of employment, a Hazle Township ballroom, from heart failure on May 16, 1980. He was 38 when he died.

[tosh]

Apr 26, 2022 16:52:01 GMT Jay7777 said:

I like the comment:

"It seemed like everybody could have committed this crime," Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Mark Baron tells PEOPLE. "There were a lot of messed up people back in the early 1960s."


Seems like it carried over into the 1970s & 1980s as well. I wonder what was wrong with people in this time period?

The book Freakonomics has a whole chapter on this and in particular why crime declined in the 90s - the writers examined the impact of legalised abortion. There was a lot of controversy and debate in response to the book at the time.

[Jay7777]

21 Years After Ala. Mom Vanished, Then-Boyfriend Allegedly Confesses, Leads Cops to Body in Suitcase

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/21-years-after-ala-mom-vanished-then-boyfriend-allegedly-confesses-leads-cops-to-body-in-suitcase/ar-AAWCKB0?ocid=iehp&li=BBnb7Kz

More than two decades after a mom of three went missing, a South Carolina man confessed to her alleged murder, police said.

In late March, Brian Jones, 62, reportedly walked into the Bessemer Police Department in Alabama and told police he killed then-girlfriend Janet Luxford in 2001 following a fight at a local hotel, WVTM-TV reports. Jones told detectives he allegedly struck Luxford in the throat with a golf club. He then stuffed her body into a suitcase and dumped it in a remote area, according to the outlet.

Citing Bessemer police, WVTM reports, "Jones gave the deceased name as then 41 yr old Janet Luxford (a.k.a. Janet Jones) as his then current girlfriend. Detectives confirmed that Janet Luxford was listed as missing and endangered from Napa, California in 2002. Detectives would later discover that Luxford was listed missing by a daughter in September 2002 after not seeing her mother in a long while."

Jones told authorities he kept the murder a secret because he didn't want to disappoint his parents, according to AL.com. Their deaths last year prompted him to confess.

"I physically met this man. I have looked this man in the face,'' Luxford's daughter Amanda Luxford Fernandez, 33, recalled to the outlet. "Brian told me he would take care of my mom."

"Yeah, he took care of her, but not the way I thought he was going to,'' she added.

"I never liked him," Fernandez said. "I always thought he was a shady person. He had these eyes that are very dark. That's what I remembered of him."

Fernandez said her mom ultimately took off with Jones when she was 12 years old. Fernandez would go on to stay with her stepfather or friends. Prior to Luxford's disappearance, she'd occasionally visit her daughter, before relocating to Alabama, according to the outlet.

"He convinced her on packing up everything. Not only did I lose my mom, I lost everything of my childhood,'' Fernandez said.

"She took her pictures, her wedding dress that she married my father in which was supposed to be mine, my christening gown."

"They had left to go to Alabama, and I never heard from her again,'' she said.

According to jail records, Jones faces one charge of murder and one charge of abuse of a corpse. He's being held on a $750,000 bond. It wasn't immediately clear if he has retained an attorney.

[Jay7777]

Apr 26, 2022 18:39:05 GMT tosh said:

Apr 26, 2022 16:52:01 GMT Jay7777 said:

I like the comment:

"It seemed like everybody could have committed this crime," Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Mark Baron tells PEOPLE. "There were a lot of messed up people back in the early 1960s."


Seems like it carried over into the 1970s & 1980s as well. I wonder what was wrong with people in this time period?

The book Freakonomics has a whole chapter on this and in particular why crime declined in the 90s - the writers examined the impact of legalised abortion. There was a lot of controversy and debate in response to the book at the time.

Seems kind of farfetched Tosh, but what do I know. 

[tosh]

Apr 26, 2022 23:36:08 GMT Jay7777 said:

Apr 26, 2022 18:39:05 GMT tosh said:

The book Freakonomics has a whole chapter on this and in particular why crime declined in the 90s - the writers examined the impact of legalised abortion. There was a lot of controversy and debate in response to the book at the time.

Seems kind of farfetched Tosh, but what do I know. 

Indeed - have also heard it being put down to the removal of lead from paint and petrol. I’m sure there are lots of unusual theories out there!

[Jay7777]

She did Great job solving this!

Woman who cracked a 35-year-old cold case shares how she did it in 4 days

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/woman-who-cracked-a-35-year-old-cold-case-shares-how-she-did-it-in-4-days/ar-AAWFPfQ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3589685caf154b0488e20a680a2beb89

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - She was just a little girl when it happened. “I was just eight years old at the time.”

Has never been to the state of Michigan. “I still have never been to the state of Michigan.”

And yet, somehow it only took days for self taught forensic genealogist Gabriella Vargas to solve a murder that went unsolved for more than three decades.

“Four days...from the time I got it. It took me four days (to solve),” Vargas says.

On February 20, 1987, 30-year-old Roxanne Wood was found stabbed to death in her Niles home.

The case went unsolved for more than three decades, that is until Vargas got involved.

“I felt this was absolutely a case that I could solve and I was up for the challenge,” Vargas told 16 News Now Wednesday.

A challenge she says three other genealogists turned down before the DNA reached her desk about a year ago.

“There was only a very, very small amount of biological fluid that was left behind,” Vargas says.

A small chance but nothing too little that Vargas could not piece together through genetic sequencing.

“When you take that evidence whether it be blood or semen or what not, we can create a profile of who this individual is. But all that profile tells us is all their genetic markers. It tells us if they are male or female, what ethnicity they are, it doesn’t say this is who their person is. We then use that profile in these databases to then build and figure out matches that are related to this individual and then figure out how this individual fits into that family tree,” Vargas explains.

For Vargas, it came down to three brothers but ultimately, there was only one she believed fit the crime: 67-year-old Patrick Gilham.

“Patrick was in the area. He was the career criminal. He had very similar crimes in his rap sheet and he was the individual that I felt was in fact our subject,” Vargas says.

In February, Gilham was arrested and charged. On Monday, Gilham was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison after pleading no contest for second degree murder.

And although 34 years of investigation took Vargas only four days to solve, she says it was about getting justice for Roxanne Wood.

“For me, this was about bringing closure to the family and justice to Roxanne. But this is why I do this, I do this to bring closure to these families,” Vargas says.

Vargas says she has only been practicing genealogy for four years, is self taught, and has not got a case wrong since she began in 2018.

[sammyt]

That's amazing work, but how does an amateur sleuth get hold of DNA samples from an active case?