cold cases

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Man Who 'Found' Teen's Body ID'd as Killer 45 Years Later

Lewis Randy Williamson identified as killer of Esther Gonzalez in 1979

(Newser) - An unidentified caller who reported finding a body by a highway in 1979 has been identified as the killer nearly five decades later. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office in California has named the late Lewis Randolph Williamson as the murderer of 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez, reports NBC News . The...

Dutch Cops Set Up Hologram of Murdered Teen Sex Worker

Police use high-tech visualization in Amsterdam's Red Light District to try to solve Betty Szabo cold case

(Newser) - Dutch police are getting creative, and high tech, in their search for the killer of a 19-year-old sex worker stabbed to death 15 years ago. The Guardian reports that authorities are now displaying a life-size hologram of Bernadett "Betty" Szabo in the windows of a corner house in Amsterdam'...

'Why Are We Not Talking About Kenny?
'Why Are We Not
Talking About Kenny?'
longform
Nov 3, 2024 1:00 PM CST

'Why Are We Not Talking About Kenny?'

Los Angeles Times reports on boy's unsolved death, and the pending release of a child killer

(Newser) - The California parole board has approved the release of a woman in her 70s who has been in prison since 1995 for murdering her 8-year-old niece. As Madie Moore gets ready for freedom, others in her family—including her own daughter—remain opposed, reports the Los Angeles Times . The reason...

She Died in 1866, and Mystery of Her Skull Is Finally Solved

Authorities say remains found in 1978 belonged to teenager Esther Granger of Indiana

(Newser) - There was nothing fishy about the death of Esther Granger in Indiana in 1866. In a story fitting for Halloween, however, authorities have finally unraveled a mystery regarding her skull. As NPR explains, the mystery began in 1978 when a homeowner in Batavia, Illinois, ripped down a wall and found...

45 Years Later, Teen's Death Linked to Serial Killer

Police in Illinois say Kathy Halle was murdered by Bruce Lindahl

(Newser) - DNA found on the clothing of a suburban Chicago woman who was kidnapped and killed 45 years ago matches that of a suspected serial killer who died two years later. The DNA of Bruce Lindahl, who's believed to have killed as many as a dozen women and girls, was...

Mom Charged in Newborn's Murder, 30 Years Later

Pamela Ferreyra identified as the mother of Baby Garin, found dead in California in 1994

(Newser) - Thirty years after the discovery of a newborn baby's body at a dumpsite in California, the mother has been found and charged, police say. Pamela Ferreyra, 60, arrested Thursday at her home in Watsonville, just six miles from where the body was discovered, faces one count of murder in...

Do You Know 'the Girl With the 10-Pence Coin'?

Interpol turns to the public for help solving nearly 50 cold cases

(Newser) - Internet sleuths: assemble! International policing agency Interpol is appealing to the public to help provide information on 46 cold cases involving unidentified women in Europe. CNN reports that the agency expanded the scope of cases in its Identify Me campaign, which launched in 2023. That original campaign generated 1,800...

Man Accused of Decapitating Student Decades Ago

Terry Dolowy went missing from Wisconsin home on Valentine's Day in 1985

(Newser) - A western Wisconsin man has been charged in the 1985 killing of a college student whose decapitated body was found days after she vanished, authorities said. Michael Raymond Popp was arrested Monday on one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of 24-year-old Terry Dolowy, the AP reports. The 60-year-old...

Suitcase With Woman's Body Stayed Hidden for 16 Years

Maintenance worker make gruesome find in South Korea building; cops suspect old boyfriend

(Newser) - The body of a woman who disappeared in South Korea some 16 years ago was discovered by chance last month during maintenance work on an apartment building, leading authorities to her alleged killer. The man in his 50s, identified as Mr. A, told police he'd been living with his...

He Vanished From Park in 1951 at Age 6. He Just Turned Up

Luis Armando Albino is tracked down by family members from Oakland

(Newser) - An online DNA test and an especially persistent family member have helped solve a missing-persons cold case that's lasted decades. Luis Armando Albino is a grandfather, Marine Corps veteran, and retired firefighter living on the East Coast—and now he can add "found" to that list, after it...

Neighbor Sentenced 44 Years After Nursing Student's Death

Judge departs from plea agreement in trial over Mary Robin Walter's slaying

(Newser) - More than 44 years after a nursing student was slain in her home in Kansas, her neighbor at the time has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing her. After the investigation of the shooting death of Mary Robin Walter, 23, was reopened in 2022, new...

$100K Reward in Cold Case of Murdered Teens

Virginia State Police seek new leads in 2009 shooting deaths of Heidi Childs and David Metzler

(Newser) - Police are seeking new leads in a 15-year-old double murder in Virginia, with the promise of a $100,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. The case is that of Heidi Childs and David Metzler , who were dating sophomores at Virginia Tech when they were shot to death...

On Death Row, Serial Killer Admits New Murder

William Suff confesses to 1986 murder of Cathy Small and 'other killings' in California

(Newser) - For nearly 40 years, the murder of 19-year-old Cathy Small, last seen leaving her California home in 1986, went unsolved. Only recently, family learned she was killed by a prolific serial killer. William "Bill" Suff, who's on death row in California for killing a dozen people in Riverside...

Nearly 50 Years Later, Man Charged in Deaths of 3 Women

Authorities say Mississippi's Warren Alexander strangled victims in 1977 in Southern California

(Newser) - A 73-year-old man has been charged in the strangulation deaths of three Southern California women in 1977 after cold case detectives obtained a DNA match, authorities said Thursday, adding they believe there could be more victims. Warren Luther Alexander of Diamondhead, Mississippi, made his first court appearance Thursday, but arraignment...

Suspect in 1996 Murder Kills Himself Hours After Interview

Montana man 'slumped in his chair' after investigators showed him photo of murdered girl

(Newser) - Paul Hutchinson, a 55-year-old Montana Fish Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologist who had lived a seemingly blameless life, killed himself last month hours after investigators showed him a photo of a 15-year-old girl who was raped and murdered 28 years ago. The Gatlin County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that...

Cold-Case Murder Suspect Kills Himself as Cops Close In

DNA evidence indicates Hawaii's Albert Lauro Jr. raped Dana Ireland in 1991

(Newser) - A man identified as a new possible suspect in the killing and sexual assault of a Virginia woman who was visiting Hawaii more than three decades ago killed himself recently after police took a DNA swab from him, officials said. The Hawaii Police Department on Monday said they matched DNA...

FBI Links Serial Rapist to Murders in National Park

2 women were found with their throats slashed in Shenandoah National Park in 1996

(Newser) - Nearly three decades after two young women were found with their throats slashed in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, federal authorities announced Thursday that they have identified a now-deceased serial rapist from Ohio as the person they believe was responsible for the killings. The bodies of Julianne "Julie" Williams,...

In St. Louis, a Long Stretch of Unsolved Murders
In St. Louis, a Long Stretch
of Unsolved Murders
longform
Jun 16, 2024 1:15 PM CDT

In St. Louis, a Long Stretch of Unsolved Murders

Marshall Project examines the problem

(Newser) - St. Louis has long been known for having one of the highest murder rates in the nation. An investigation by the Marshall Project reveals a troubling tangent to that: A surprising number of the city's killings over the last decade remain unsolved. The city had approximately 1,900 homicides...

Woman Says She's Kid Who Vanished in 1985

Pennsylvania State Police investigating Facebook claim related to Cherrie Mahan, who was 8

(Newser) - Surely not every Facebook comment is to be believed. But police in Pennsylvania are eager to determine the truth of one particular comment in which a woman claims to be Cherrie Mahan, who vanished from Pennsylvania as an 8-year-old in 1985. The woman made the claim on the " Memories...

A Texas Dad Still Wants to Know: Who Killed His Boy?

Marshall Stewart has been searching for his son's killers since 1988

(Newser) - "For thirty-five f—ing years, my brain's been turning over all these questions," says Sean Stewart. Questions like why the bodies of his 16-year-old brother, Shane, and Sally McNelly, 18, were left in the brush along a rough dirt path leading to a reservoir outside San Angelo...

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