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. Former Sen. Patrick Leahy,who was county prosecutor at the time of the murder, said he saw many gruesome crimes during his time as prosecutor but Rita Curran's family stayed in this thoughts for years after. Known only as Kelly to protect her family's privacy, the woman's identity was finally revealed through DNA testing. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Dahns family, including Mark Beyer, her then 2-year-old son who has no recollection of the incident, spent 34 years wondering who murdered her and why, but thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, investigators were able to track down the suspect, Warren Robertson, a man who also lived in the same apartment complex as Dahn in 1988, according to investigators. But she was disappointed to learn that Grim had died in 2018 of natural causes at age 58 and will not pay for robbing her and her siblings of a childhood with a mother. 1980s cold case murders solved, O.C. 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. 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. The man who would eventually be named as her killer, Raymond Moody, had been a person of interest in Brittanee Drexel's disappearance as far back as 2012 but until just recently, they had nothing solid connecting him to the crime. 'Help me find my children': How race affects social media efforts to find missing kids. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM, The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo illustration of what she was believed to look like from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. As with many such cases, the DNA evidence taken from Smith's body was insufficient to pin the crime on Drummond in the '80s, and although there was significant circumstantial evidence of his involvement, he walked free for nearly four decades. Greg Harder of the Elkhart County Police noticed a possible piece of DNA evidence that was missed. 2023 Cable News Network. That is, until 2019, when Detective Sgt. Crimes have become much easier to solve if DNA is present. In October 2000, a sample of DNA was taken from underneath Dahns fingernails. Originally from Rochester, New York, Drexel was spending her spring break vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was last seen walking from one hotel to another. The body of a young child tragically known as "Little Miss Nobody" was identified in February after remaining a mystery for over 60 years. Now, 'Little Miss Nobody' has a name. In late March 1983, the body of Joette Smith was found floating in the San Lorenzo River. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much A college student disappeared in 1976. While police determined the murders to be connected and despite following many leads, the case eventually went cold. The murder caused ripples of fear in a time when many Burlingtonresidents left front doors unlocked, and the killer remained a mystery for decades, despite the police looking into hundreds of tips. Although police had fingerprints and photographs of Kelly, they believed that they had done all DNA testing possible in 2004. Fox News Digitals Audrey Conklin, Danielle Wallace, Pilar Arias and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. BURLINGTON, Vt.After 52 years, a 1971 Vermont murder has been solved using decades-old DNA evidence. (The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children). After years of waiting for justice, she was relieved investigators finally had named her mothers killer. ' It turned out that during her life, the young woman had used a number of aliases, including Kelly Carr, Sharon Wiley, Cheryl Wick, and Mercedes. 2. All Rights Reserved. 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. All Rights Reserved. On Aug. 23, 1971, the woman picked up Melissa from the mothers apartment, where a roommate had been watching the child while her mom was at work. But if the person isnt a known offender, they wont be in the CODIS system and, therefore, no match would be present. There was just intimate details about where she was disposed of, how her clothes were displayed, stuff like that, Womer said. The case went cold after that. As later reported by the Great Falls Tribune, 18-year-old Lloyd Bogle was found shot in the head with his arms tied behind his back with his own belt. Police say there was a struggle at the scene, based on the evidence collected. Applying Modern Investigation Methods to Solve Cold Cases. (NCMEC/ Highsmith family Facebook page). 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 triple homicide committed 50 years ago has been solved after the Watauga County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina received information revealed by a Georgia inmate during a visit . It is unclear how Love actually came into contact with Reed; regardless, Love was arrested for the murder of Robert Reed in 2022 based on the DNA evidence.[5]. Wise died in a car crash in 1999, but that fact did nothing to diminish the power of the statement given by the FBI's Atlanta office in the wake of the resolution of the case. We will be examining cold cases that were solved in 2022. In December 1975, 19-year-old Lindy Beichler was murdered in her Lancaster, Pennsylvania, apartment. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Reyes knows shell never get the answers. The subsequent investigation led Santa Cruz County police to a man named Eric Drummond, who had reportedly previously asked Smith on a date and was declined. They declined to elaborate how they obtained his DNA when hes been dead for four years. 8:33 AM EST, Sun February 13, 2022, 20-year-old man helps solve cold case from 1964. Investigators said the biggest breakthrough in the case happened this year after they obtained a new sample of Grims DNA to compare with the older evidence. Over the next 14 years, authorities diligently ruled out the presence of any DNA not matching Strutner's in the 1980 evidence and finally, in 2022, he was named as Dukat's murderer. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. Soon after the murder, William DeRoos left his then-wife, moved to Thailand and became a monk. Nearly 58 years later, police solve cold case murder of 9-year-old Pennsylvania girl The men responsible for the killings were identified as Billy Sunday Birt, Bobby Gene Gaddis, Charles David. Most recently, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 25 years to life in prison for the rape and violent murder of Diane Cusick. She also enjoyed playing the organ. I traveled the world as a photographer. Why did he kill a young woman who was just trying to take care of her children? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. Throughout the years, more than 230 members of the Pennsylvania State Police worked on the case to no avail. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. 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. But, after 52 years, Curran's family finally has closure. On September 19, 2022, a federal judge vacated the conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the 2014 podcast Serial and the 2016 HBO docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed, after 23 years. In April 1982, U.S.. Cottingham was known to approach his victims in mall parking lots and accuse them of stealing while imitating a security guard. Investigators dont know much about Grim other than he lived in the nearby Hamburg, Pennsylvania, area. Did you encounter any technical issues? The night of July 19, the couple had a fight and William DeRoos went for a walk to get some air. Police theorized that the killing may have been part of a pattern of attempted child abductions going on at the time, and over the years following, they investigated a slew of potential suspects, even resorting to the not-so-solid technique of hypnotizing subjects in their attempts to elicit a confession. The family did not see Melissa for decades until November. In recent years this method has helped solve some of the nations most high-profile cold cases, including the one of the notorious Golden State Killer. Fortes DNA was a match to genetic material found on the victims jacket.[7]. Missing Melissa Highsmith's mother poses next to a composite sketch of her daughter's suspected kidnapper in a Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper article. Jessica Baggen, a 17-year-old from Sitka, Alaska, disappeared in early May 1996. Many questions still remain about the case, but Holly has reportedly been in contact with her newfound family members. However, using DNA from Goulds surviving relatives, police were able to determine with certainty that he was responsible for the double homicide and sexual assault of Lloyd and Kalitzke. At the time of their deaths, Dean and Tina had a baby daughter, Holly, who was less than a year old. Legal Statement. A male's DNA was detected on the cigarette butt in testing, but the DNA did not match the DNA of anyone in the national database of felons. He spent two decades in prison for church murders. Cold case murder that inspired 'Twin Peaks' solved 100 years later: Book By Caroline Howe January 1, 2022 7:25am Updated After five years of research, a pair of "Twin Peaks" fans claim they. As we've seen, DNA technology is growing by leaps and bounds every year and while no workable DNA profile could be created at that time, it was a different story just seven years later. The Ontelaunee Trail in Perry Township, where Kane's body was found, as seen in October 1988. This is the fifth time the Sheriffs Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. Through further testing and genealogical research, the blood on Madgers clothing was identified as matching the DNA of one Stephen Simcak. 8:36 AM EDT, Fri August 26, 2022. So far, theyve found no ties. That heartbreaking nickname was retired forever in 2022, thanks to DNA retrieved from the little girl's remains in 2015. That detail was a small mole on Geddes' right ear, which was enough for police to make a tenuous connection to Geddes. 2 min; DEC 14, 2022; 3 YEAR OLD COLD CASE SOLVED The young couple was then positively ID'd as Dean and Tina Clouse, who had recently relocated to Lewisville, TX from central Florida. appreciated. Not long after finding Dean and Tina's identities, investigators began to search for Holly. His remains were identified 47 years later. NEW YORK TEEN BRITTANEE DREXEL SENT EERIE TEXTS TO BOYFRIEND BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE, DEATH: REPORT. DNA testing at home in Japan is starting to gain traction as more people age and seek answers about their risks for diseases. JonBenet Ramsey cold case: DNA expert explains how mystery might be solved in short order CeCe Moore is the chief genetic genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based DNA tech firm She was portrayed as this slain prostitute, like she deserved what happened to her, said Reyes, 43, who lives in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. The man who killed Rita Curran was a suspect for years and was questioned by police at the time of the murder. Anna Kane, in an undated family photo. The Serial podcast, HBO series, and other court hearings and investigations over the years had brought up, among other issues, questions about Syed's lawyer, who was disbarred in 2001, the lack of DNA evidence pointing to Syed at the murder scene, and the reliability of a witness. Cusicks parents reported her missing after the 23-year-old woman never returned home from a trip to the Green Acres Mall. When 53-year-old John Stagner was beaten to death in his bed in Orlando, Florida, in 1992, police honed in on a suspect almost immediately, according to Fox 35 Orlando: Ronald Cates, a friend of Stagner's who happened to be a drug addict. 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. This is the fifth time the Sheriff's Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. Information about the babysitter has not been released, although Melissa said she contacted the woman who raised her, who admitted that she was the missing child. If a possible match is found, genealogists can build out family trees to help police find potential suspects. A DNA sample taken at the time of that arrest was eventually used to connect him to the Lloyd and Cuevas slayings. Further testing was done in 2001, but the profile was insufficient to place into a federal database of DNA from unsolved crimes or CODIS, police said. While Chapa died in 2021, just nine months before being identified, police and the FBI are looking into the possibility that Chapa is connected to other crimes in other states.[4]. No child should ever have to grow up without their mom.. But in a Tuesday news conference, the Burlington Police Department announced that Curran's case was solved and the man responsible for the 24-year-old's murder, William DeRoos, died years ago. Heartbreaking nickname was retired forever in 2022 Harder of the Pennsylvania State police worked on the evidence.. Tina 's identities, investigators began to search for Holly a DNA sample taken the. Fox.Com and on Twitter: @ steph_pagones to the Green Acres Mall were solved in 2022 connected. 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