(Nassau County District Attorney's Office). I traveled the world as a photographer. The first case is of Roxanne Leigh Wood from 1987, which was solved in March 2022, after. After what investigators called an exhaustive process, nine family trees were created with nearly 1,300 people connected to Robertson either through blood or marriage. In the summer of 1960, the body of a young girl was found near a highway in Yavapai Country, Arizona. An initial connection to Jones was established in 2002 through DNA evidence, according to the document. The Ontelaunee Trail in Perry Township, where Kane's body was found, as seen in October 1988. She was portrayed as this slain prostitute, like she deserved what happened to her, said Reyes, 43, who lives in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. To confirm, Forte was exhumed last month so that investigators could take a DNA sample to match the suspects profile. Cates had developed a habit of borrowing and pawning power tools from Stagner, a city maintenance worker, in order to support this habit; even Cates' own family members had long suspected his involvement in the killing, but police were never able to gather enough evidence to support a probable cause warrant for his arrest. Both were signed "Jane Doe," and despite their best efforts, police were unable to identify the woman who would become known as the "Christmas tree lady" (via DC News Now). Four-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarellis remains were discovered inside a box and abandoned in Philadelphias Fox Chase neighborhood Feb. 25, 1957. In December 1996, police stumbled upon a mystery fit for a detective novel. With each breakthrough, investigators have gotten one step closer to finding answers and, in turn, a resolution. She was found two days later, sexually assaulted and strangled. Then, in 2021, police turned to the relatively new field of genetic genealogy. 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. Eventually, direct relatives of Robertson gave their DNA samples and confirmed his identification and matched the hair strand that was found in Dahns hands. Rita Curran was violently murdered in her Vermont apartment in 1971 - and the case remained a mystery for decades. Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer announced Monday that advanced DNA testing helped investigators solve the cold case homicide of 16-year-old Kim Bryant. Over 4,000 pages of information have been compiled in this case over the years. An image of "Little Miss Nobody," a girl discovered in a remote Arizona desert more than 60 years ago. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM MELISSA HIGHSMITH The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo. Discovery Company. This facial reconstruction is an artist's rendering of what the Jane Doe may have looked like. This is the fifth time the Sheriffs Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. When the officers arrived, they found the pair lying in the middle of the roadway next to the mothers car, both shot in the head, the document said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The case went cold. A college student disappeared in 1976. Discovery Company. Investigators discovered, however, that soon after that interview, Smith had moved to Little Falls, New York, and changed his surname to Becker a circumstance that prompted them to bring him in for a new round of interviews. When they did, the now-elderly killer presumably weary from looking over his shoulder for 45 years broke down and confessed to the crime. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig). In February 1990, about 15 months after she was killed, the paper received an anonymous letter from a concerned citizen with information that only the killer would know, police said. Legal Statement. "Boy in the Box" identified as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli. Leads fail to pan out, witnesses change their tunes or disappear altogether, and collected evidence fails to provide the iron-clad proof required for an arrest and conviction; for mere mortals, it can all become exceedingly frustrating. Unfortunately, there was no match to a suspect at the time. The family of Melissa Highsmith provided this photo of her as a baby. It was obtained legally through a search warrant, Trate said. On Tuesday,. Thats where genetic genealogy came in. Reyes said one of her fondest childhood memories was taking walks with her mother and seeing her suddenly dance to random music playing in stores as they passed. DNA WINS THIS SEARCH! From Ted Bundy to Jack the Ripper,new DNA technology is solving murder mysteries, finding serial killers, and exonerating innocents. She was only 9 years old. Also known as investigative genetic genealogy, this relatively new practice involves finding criminals via companies that collect consumer DNA samples for genealogy purposes. We were fortunate enough to have most of the related family cooperate and provide us their DNA samples.. Reyes was 9 when her mother was killed, and said she thinks about her every day. They lived in the same apartment building as Curran. In late March 1983, the body of Joette Smith was found floating in the San Lorenzo River. Not long after finding Dean and Tina's identities, investigators began to search for Holly. It may take years or even decades, but we continually seek justice for victims and their families.". That is, until 2022, when police identified a suspect. We have so many precious memories of Marise. 2023 Cable News Network. Going over the old case files, they zeroed in on Larry David Smith, who had been interviewed in connection with the slaying in 1973 but was never seriously considered a suspect. Online records show he is not eligible for parole in that state until 2030. 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]. Her body was found half-naked after being sexually assaulted and strangled to death on January 1, 1985. The Burlington Police Department reactivated the case in 2019 when Lt. Detective Commander Jim Trieb put his whole team of detectives on the case. A number of true crime updates came to light in 2022, with many cold cases solved through forensic genetic genealogy. Scientists were able to use the unknown DNA to find potential matches in public databases and create a reverse family tree. This method eventually led to a man named Kenneth Gould, who unfortunately passed away in 2007. The results came back to match a man named Marcus Love. 2023 Cable News Network. Rita Curran was a 24-year-old second grade teacher when she was violently murdered in her Burlington apartment in July 1971. A man named Steve Branch was identified as a person of interest. Her father, Jeffrie Highsmith, submitted his DNA to the website, and he was matched to Melissa's three children as their grandfather. Investigators determined she was sexually assaulted, murdered and left in the hole with all her belongings. 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 DNA from the saliva matched what was found on Kanes clothing, authorities said this week. Sharons parents died before they were able to learn their daughters fate. Both families tried to report the couple missing, but were told by authorities that they probably didn't want to be contacted. All of that stuff was preserved the way it should be, because they knew probably somewhere down the line whatever they collected could be that little piece of evidence (to solve the case), Trate said. In 1975, long before DNA evidence would become a factor in criminal justice, 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler was brutally stabbed to death inside her home. I couldnt believe it, she said, referring to the day police told her about the killings. A gruesome double homicide opened the year of 1956 in Great Falls, Montana. 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. Nadine Madger was a Willoughby, Ohio, woman who was found murdered in January 1980. State police worked tirelessly over the years but were unable to identify her killer until now. The prior DNA connection between the suspect and swabs taken from Falcon-Dewey was also confirmed, it said. While initial tests done previously on the blood were inconclusive, advances in DNA testing allowed for the blood to be positively identified as belonging to George Peacock. This finally happened in 2022, when DNA information provided to public websites by members of the killer's family allowed authorities to focus on Scott Grim, a resident of the area who had never been charged with any crime. The keys to the car appeared to have been dropped between the drivers seat and the door and were not readily visible, the document says. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. Jon Kadner sent DNA swabs from Kalitzkes sexual assault to forensic genealogists at Bode Technology. Over 30 years after her murder, researchers and investigators identified El Dorado Jane Doe in May 2022. Investigators dont know much about Grim other than he lived in the nearby Hamburg, Pennsylvania, area. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. She was stabbed 19 times, and prosecutors say evidence at the scene suggested a sexual motive. Unfortunately, no substantial leads were obtained in the case, and Beichlers murder went cold. The Fort Worth Police Department said it plans to investigate the disappearance, but the statute of limitations on pursuing criminal charges in the kidnapping has passed. And what went through his mind when he learned she had a family that loved her? Fortes DNA was a match to genetic material found on the victims jacket.[7]. Theyre trying to determine whether he knew Kane, and have urged anyone who knows the nature of their relationship to reach out. The woman took her fromher home in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 1971. Elkhart County, Indiana, is where, in May 2002, Robert Reed was found robbed and murdered inside his residence. The murder of 33-year-old Santa Cruz, California, restaurant owner Joette Smith was precipitated by what should have been an innocuous circumstance. In 1975, long before DNA evidence would become a factor in criminal justice, 19-year-old Lindy Sue Biechler was brutally stabbed to death inside her home. She was a mother. Now, 'Little Miss Nobody' has a name. On March 18, 1964, Chiverella left her house to walk to school. Using genetic genealogy and familial DNA, police in Colorado have solved the decades-old cases of the deaths of four females, saying the killer was a man who died by suicide in jail in 1981.. The coroner determined her manner of death to be strangulation. Known only as Kelly to protect her family's privacy, the woman's identity was finally revealed through DNA testing. The circumstances around what led up to her death remain a mystery, 34 years later -- but DNA evidence points to her killer. This is the fifth time the Sheriff's Homicide Unit has used investigative genetic genealogy to solve a cold case. Anna Kane, in an undated family photo. It has been hard growing up without a mom, she said. "Let this serve as a warning to every murderer, rapist, and violent offender out there," said Keri Farley, special agent in charge of the investigation. The young mother and dance instructors own father discovered her remains brutally beaten, duct taped and sexually assaulted in her vehicle parked outside the mall. Cold Case detectives couldnt figure out the connection between Robertson and Dahn. Throughout the years, more than 230 members of the Pennsylvania State Police worked on the case to no avail. Four-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos partially decomposed body was found over 500 miles from her New Mexico home July 31, 1960. Jones is currently imprisoned for murdering a man in 1995 in California, prosecuting attorney Jessica Berliner said. Blood pooled around his misshapen head, with his neck and head sustaining multiple injuries. Two years later, in 1989, a California woman, Renee Cuevas, was also found murdered. 10 Unsettling Unsolved Cold Cases - Listverse Crime | April 26, 2022 10 Unsettling Unsolved Cold Cases by Estelle fact checked by Darci Heikkinen The saying goes, "the truth always comes out in the end." And for the most part, through life's twists and turns, that saying seems to ring true. The lack of closure has added to the distress of losing their mother, she said. A look at the best and most underrated in entertainment, music, and sports in 2022. Investigators analyzed Kanes clothing and found traces of an unknown mans DNA. Surveillance footage showed Drexel leaving her friend's hotel that night, but never returning to her own. They declined to elaborate how they obtained his DNA when hes been dead for four years. Discovery Company. Nothing, that is, until 2018, when an amateur cold case enthusiast came forward with one tiny detail after police reopened the case. The man who killed Rita Curran was a suspect for years and was questioned by police at the time of the murder. Ten years later, investigators opened Dahns case again, looking for new leads and use of new technology. They did, however, find that both were racing enthusiasts and attended stock car races at the El Cajon Speedway around the time of Dahns murder. In April of that year, their 17-year-old daughter Brittanee took off for spring break, without her parents' permission, to Myrtle Beach, Florida, and never came home (via Democrat & Chronicle). It started as a hobby. Detectives began watching Sinopoli, and before he boarded a flight at Philly International Airport, they collected a discarded coffee cup that provided the DNA sample they needed to nail him. ", "This is truly a mothers worst nightmare," she said. She was loved. In an interview with Burlington police in the fall of 2022, Michelle DeRoos, who now goes by another name, said that her husband at the time had a criminal history and told her not to mention to police that he was not home at the time of the murder because they would try to accuse him of it. Woman found dead in 1971 identified 52 years later after community fundraiser for DNA testing, How race affects social media efforts to find missing kids, hours of research through genealogical records and public records. An undated image of Sharon Gallegos. 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. According to local news station WFAA, federal kidnapping charges, which have no statute of limitations, could still be filed, but only if certain criteria are met, such as the kidnapper crossing state lines or using mail to conduct the kidnapping. Her body was located more than 13 years later, in May of this year, about 35 miles from where she disappeared, officials have said. It was the rare case in which a fleeting moment of conscience, and not new technology, was the key to unraveling a three-decade-old crime. In the 36 years since, the case was passed to many detectives, all to no avail. By. CNNs Jessica Prater contributed to this report. At the time of their deaths, Dean and Tina had a baby daughter, Holly, who was less than a year old. According to Garden Grove Deputy Police Chief Amir Al Farra, she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. "We determine if someone is missing and if someone is missing with a vehicle. Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripperand DNA: New techsolvingmurders. But shes glad her family finally knows her mothers killer. Unfortunately, Simcak will never be tried for the death of Madger, as he died in 2018.[9]. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. I felt a little bit of everything when I found out, she told CNN. Did you encounter any technical issues? Curran's case was put on the back burner for years, making it the oldest cold case in the department. Investigators said they identified Grim as the killer using genetic genealogy, which combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections among people. After 1 p.m., her body was discovered in coal refuse pit. In September 2022, Drummond died by suicide as the police were closing in a life that almost certainly would have been lived out in the slammer otherwise. Melissa's sister, Sharon Highsmith, wrote on Facebook: Our finding Melissa was purely because of DNA, not because of any police/FBI involvement, podcast involvement, or even our familys own private investigations or speculations. appreciated. More evidence, including Curran's clothes, was sent to a lab in Florida in 2022 where they performed new DNA-extracting techniques. 8:36 AM EDT, Fri August 26, 2022. appreciated. She also said DeRoos strangled her once, the same way Curran died. The bodies of Falcon-Dewey and her son were discovered on October 28, 1994, after a Seattle Times newspaper delivery person called 911 and reported seeing the mothers body, according to a probable cause document. Anna Kane. Published 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. On May 11, 2022, the remains of Brittanee Drexel were found in South Carolina. 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 appreciated. Here are a dozen of the most stubbornly unresolved cold cases that were finally put to bed in 2022. Mark Baron. At the time, the San Diego County Sheriffs homicide unit conducted an extensive investigation, but the department came up short on identifying a suspect until now. Jessica Baggen, a 17-year-old from Sitka, Alaska, disappeared in early May 1996. The crime scene outside of the apartment complex where both Robertson and Dahn lived on May 2, 1988. In May 2022, genome sequencing technology became available to the Fairfax police department, enabling investigators to reach out to potential family members. As the months and years pass by, these families live in a . The most incriminating evidence: a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body that contained DNA evidence. Unfortunately for criminals and murderers, this means its much easier to get caught, especially for those who committed crimes before DNA testing. 12:45 PM EDT, Fri March 18, 2022. Of those suspects, one in 20 will be arrested, and just one in those 100 charged will be convicted. After years of waiting for justice, she was relieved investigators finally had named her mothers killer. Police released this image of James Paul Forte from his high school yearbook. Although her mother had a dark past that included drug use and prostitution, she was trying to turn her life around, Reyes said. One of the few people with keys to the apartment was Knutson's then 18-year-old roommate, Nichole Rice, who quickly fell under suspicion. FOUND: MELISSA HIGHSMITH'S FAMILY 'OVERJOYED' AFTER BEING REUNITED WITH SISTER ABDUCTED IN 1971. In October 2000, a sample of DNA was taken from underneath Dahns fingernails. 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. Dukat was only 8 years old, grabbed by a stranger and killed with a 20-pound rock in a shallow stream on her short walk home from school, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Kane was reportedly working as a prostitute at the time she was killed and may have been meeting a customer, Womer said, adding that police are trying to determine whether it was Grim. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Meanwhile, detectives sent the genetic evidence from the cigarette butt to a genealogy company to see if a bigger database of DNA could help them find the killer. The most incriminating evidence was a cigarette butt found next to Curran's body. Jones arraignment is slated for March 1, according to the Superior Court clerks office. The case was solved through modern DNA and genealogy technology and the careful preservation of evidence from the crime scene in 1971. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. If convicted, Jones would face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, the documents said. BURLINGTON, Vt.After 52 years, a 1971 Vermont murder has been solved using decades-old DNA evidence. New DNA evidence shows someone else did it. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. REMAINS OF LITTLE MISS NOBODY IDD AS NEW MEXICO GIRL, 4, ABDUCTED IN 1960 AND FOUND IN ARIZONA DESERT. Please keep after. "One of our sisters called her daughter the youngest one and her daughter led us to her mom," Jeff Highsmith,who had never met his older sister, previously told Fox News Digital. Authorities believe that Drexel's remains were buried on April 26, 2009, just one day after she was abducted. That letter happened to contain information that only the killer would be privy to, and saliva on the envelope was matched to that found on Kane's clothing. She was a firecracker very outgoing, not afraid of anything, very honest, blunt and caring, she said. Police said Josephs parents have since died, and no one claimed the child or reported him missing at the time his remains were discovered. Behind every long-term missing person or unsolved murder case is a family who continues to look for answers. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. In March 2022, 15 years after Knutson's murder, police arrested Rice (34 at the time) for the murder. The most stubborn cold case in the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was finally cracked in 2022 thanks to an ingenious piece of investigative work. To reach out light in 2022 for 45 years broke down and confessed to the day police told about. 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