Golden State Killer Backlash? Public Databases Shutting Down in Wake of Arrest

2 hours 8 min ago
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by Seth Augenstein
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Mexican Mafia Run Jail Crime Like an 'Illegal Government'
The Los Angeles County jails are run by the sheriff, but the Mexican Mafia wields the power in the underworld behind bars. The organization made up of leaders from various Latino gangs operated like an illegal government, collecting "taxes" on smuggled...
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by Brian Melley, Associated Press
5.24.2018
11:22am
Medical Examiner
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Medical Examiner: Volusia Morgue ‘Potentially Dangerous’
The Volusia County Medical Examiner’s morgue cooler is “consistently over capacity.” The facility is “critically” understaffed. The situation is “potentially dangerous.” Those are just some of the serious concerns outgoing medical examiner Dr. Sara...
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by The Daytona Beach News-Journal
5.24.2018
11:17am
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Crime Scene
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Investigators: Russian Military Missile Downed Flight MH17
Detailed analysis of video and photos has unequivocally established that the Buk missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine nearly four years ago came from a Russia-based military unit, an international team of...
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by Mike Corder, Associated Press
5.24.2018
11:08am
Forensic Anthropology
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Remains Found at Little Rock Park ID’d as Missing Girl’s
Human remains discovered in a drainage pipe at a Little Rock park were identified as those of a teenager who was last seen in the area before disappearing 2½ years ago, authorities said Wednesday.
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by Associated Press
5.24.2018
10:55am
Digital Forensics
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California High Court to Rule on Social Media Access
The California Supreme Court will decide whether Facebook and other social media companies must turn over user content to criminal defendants.
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by Sudhin Thanawala, Associated Press
5.24.2018
10:27am
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Forensic Psychology
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Somnophilia of the ‘Grindr Killer’: Four Incidental Deaths, Maybe More
The paraphilia of a British serial killer may be a relatively new phenomenon that investigators should keep an eye out for among rape and murder cases, according to a new study in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.23.2018
1:15pm
Crime Scene
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Chemistry Professor Gets $628,000 Grant to Develop New Method of Lifting Fingerprints
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has awarded a grant of more than $628,000 over two years to NIU chemistry and biochemistry professor Oliver Hofstetter to support his efforts to develop new user-friendly techniques and devices for recovering and...
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by Northern Illinois University
5.23.2018
1:01pm
Toxicology
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NYPD Warning of ‘Dangerous Batch of K2’ After 56 Recent Overdoses in Brooklyn
The NYPD is cracking down on the illegal sale of the dangerous K2 drug after reporting more than 50 overdoses and at least a dozen arrests in Brooklyn in recent days.
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by CBS New York
5.23.2018
12:56pm
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Police Procedure
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The Role of Race in Police Contact Among Homeless Youth
A new longitudinal study examined the likelihood of homeless youth of different races being harassed and arrested by police. The study found that non-white homeless youth are more likely than white homeless youth to report police harassment and arrest,...
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by Crime and Justice Research Alliance
5.23.2018
12:21pm
Crime Lab
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Ohio Inmate Claims Innocence in Slaying of 3, Wants Retrial
Kevin Keith, who was convicted of fatally shooting three people, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant him a new trial based on evidence never heard by a jury. Keith’s lawyers say the personnel file of a state forensics investigator who worked on his...
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by Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Associated Press
5.23.2018
12:09pm
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Sexual Assault Investigations
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Woman Accuses R. Kelly of Sexual Battery, Giving Her Herpes
R. Kelly sexually abused and demeaned a woman, locked her in rooms and vehicles for punishment and infected her with herpes, according to a lawsuit that furthers a string of misconduct accusations against the platinum-selling singer.
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by Associated Press
5.23.2018
11:52am
Forensic Anthropology
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Hitler’s Teeth and Skull Provide ‘Definitive Identification’
Adolf Hitler did indeed die in his bunker in April 1945—and the few charred fragments left of his bones and dental work prove that the conspiracy theories about his escape from under the march of the Allies at the end of World War II are bogus, according...
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.22.2018
1:45pm
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Sexual Assault Investigations
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Virginia Developing Computer Program to Allow Victims to Track Sexual Assault Test Results
New software that will allow sexual assault victims to track the analysis of evidence in their cases is under development for the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.
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by Frank Green, Richmond Times-Dispatch
5.22.2018
1:21pm
Exonerations
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Pizza Deliveryman's Killing: Man Ordered Free Decades Later
A Louisiana judge has ordered the release of an inmate whose attorneys have accused prosecutors of withholding "staggering" evidence of the man's innocence in a pizza deliveryman's killing two decades ago.
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by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press
5.22.2018
1:01pm
Biometrics
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ACLU: Amazon Shouldn't Sell Face-recognition Tech to Police
The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy activists are asking Amazon to stop marketing a powerful facial recognition tool to police, saying law enforcement agencies could use the technology to "easily build a system to automate the...
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by Gene Johnson, Associated Press
5.22.2018
12:57pm
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Forensic Anthropology
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Team Expands Forensic Method to Identify People Using Proteins From Bones
In September 2016, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists announced they had developed a science-based, statistically validated way to use protein markers from human hair to identify people and link individuals to evidence. Now they’ve found a...
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by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
5.22.2018
12:43pm
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R&D 100 Awards: Become Part of the Legacy
Today, the limits of innovation have been pushed far beyond what anyone could have predicted when the R&D 100 Awards first began 55 years ago. It is not too late for your novel product or service to become part of this legacy.
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by R&D Magazine Staff
5.22.2018
11:48am
Unsolved
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NamUs 2.0: Faster, More In-depth on Its First Day Debut
Today the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System has launched its “2.0”—the second version of the database. The system is sleeker, faster—and comes with new options that may make that crucial breakthrough in untold cases of the future,...
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.21.2018
12:31pm
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Exonerations
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Wisconsin Man, Casualty Of Flawed Hair Forensics, Exonerated
A Wisconsin man who spent two decades in prison based in part on flawed FBI forensic work has been cleared of rape, battery and burglary charges, the latest in a series of exonerations around the country based on the now-discredited technique of...
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by Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Public Radio
5.21.2018
11:43am
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Preventing Murder by Addressing Domestic Violence
Victims of domestic violence are at a high risk to be murdered—or a victim of attempted murder—according to a Cuyahoga County task force of criminal-justice professionals, victim advocates and researchers working to prevent domestic violence and...
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by Case Western Reserve University
5.21.2018
11:29am
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DNA
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Man Arrested in 1987 Killing of Couple in Washington State
New DNA technology has led to the arrest of a 55-year-old man in the killing of a young Canadian couple in Washington state more than three decades ago, police said.
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by Associated Press
5.21.2018
11:18am
Firearms
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Police Response to Texas School Shooting Remains Unclear
Among the biggest unknowns of the Santa Fe High School shooting is when the confrontation began at the high school outside Houston between police and 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who authorities say opened fire on an art lab with a shotgun and .38...
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by Paul J. Weber, Associated Press
5.21.2018
11:12am
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Wisconsin High Court: Lifetime GPS Monitoring Not Punishment
A Wisconsin judge wasn't required to tell a man he would face a lifetime of GPS monitoring upon pleading guilty to child sex crimes because such monitoring is a public safety measure, not a form of punishment, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
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by Todd Richmond, Associated Press
5.21.2018
10:44am
Cybersecurity
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Virtual Case Notes: Researchers Discover 'EFAIL'—Major Flaws in Widely-used Email Encryption
Newly reported vulnerabilities in two very widely used email encryption standards, S/MIME and OpenPGP, have some security experts warning users that their emails are no longer secure.
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by Laura French
Associate Editor
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@ForensicMag
5.18.2018
1:52pm
Unsolved
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D.B. Cooper Was My Best Friend, Michigan Man Claims in New Book
The search for D.B. Cooper, the infamous skyjacker who has eluded authorities for 47 years, has become a legend. New suspects have appeared and been checked out, even decades after the daring 1971 heist. The latest person of interest is a Michigan man,...
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.18.2018
1:35pm
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Police Procedure
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Trooper Slaying Appeal Focuses on How Suspect Was Questioned
Pennsylvania's highest court peppered a defense lawyer and a prosecutor with questions Thursday about the police interrogation of a man later convicted of killing one state trooper and wounding another to act out his anti-government beliefs.
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by Mark Scolforo, Associated Press
5.18.2018
1:03pm
Sexual Assault Investigations
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Chile's Bishops Resign En Masse Over Sex Abuse Cover-up
In the biggest shake-up yet in the Catholic Church's long-running sex abuse scandal, every active Chilean bishop offered to resign Friday over what Pope Francis said was their "grave negligence" in investigating abuse and protecting children.
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by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
5.18.2018
1:00pm
Forensic Anthropology
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Ground-penetrating Radar in Hunt for Dead in Racial Massacre
Researchers searching for a possible mass grave from a racial massacre in 1887 said they picked up signals Thursday of disturbed earth at a south Louisiana site, but they cautioned they don’t know yet what ground-penetrating radar detected.
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by Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press
5.18.2018
12:55pm
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Firearms
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Sheriff Says up to 10 Killed in Texas High School Shooting
At least one gunman opened fire at a Houston-area high school Friday, killing eight to 10 people, most of them students, authorities said.
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by Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press
5.18.2018
12:25pm
DNA
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Phenotyping Webtool Developed by Academics, Who Want ‘Full Disclosure’ of Limitations
An international team of academics have pushed out a new webtool for predicting eye color, hair color and skin tone that they say is pushing new boundaries for the science—especially since it is free of charge and available to all law enforcement...
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.17.2018
1:34pm
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Jeff Sessions Adds 300 Prosecutors to Fight Opioids, Crime and Immigration Offenses
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is adding more than 300 new prosecutors around the nation to fight the opioid epidemic, violent crime and immigration violations. The 311 new assistant attorney positions are set to be announced Thursday and will mark...
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by Christal Hayes, USA TODAY
5.17.2018
11:17am
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Neighborhood Is Key Factor in Recidivism Rates for Ex-offenders in Arkansas
The neighborhood that a person recently released from prison lives in is a key factor in whether that person will eventually return to prison, according to a study by two professors.
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by University of Arkansas at Little Rock
5.17.2018
11:08am
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Crime Scene
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Man Pleads Guilty to Killing 4, but Cousin Rejects Plea Deal
A day of reckoning for two cousins accused of brutally killing four young men on a farm last summer was upended Wednesday when one of them reneged on a plea deal, a stunning turn that had prosecutors seeking the death penalty and considering his cousin...
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by Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press
5.17.2018
10:48am
Cybersecurity
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British Cyber Expert's Attorney Says FBI Deceived Him
Attorneys for a British cybersecurity expert credited with stopping a worldwide computer virus last year told a federal judge Wednesday that the FBI agents who arrested him for allegedly creating malware used deception when interrogating him and those...
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by Ivan Moreno, Associated Press
5.17.2018
10:42am
Police Procedure
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Emergency 911 Technology Struggles to Keep up With the Times
In this era of active shooters, police shootings and global terrorism, a patchwork of technology around the country can make the experience of calling 911 vastly different depending on where you live.
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by Lisa Marie Pane, Associated Press
5.17.2018
10:29am
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Sexual Assault Investigations
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Michigan State and Nassar Victims Reach $500M Settlement
Michigan State University has agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar in the worst sex-abuse case in sports history, the university announced Wednesday.
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by David Eggert and Ed White, Associated Press
5.16.2018
12:54pm
Firearms
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Case Study: Man With Bullet Lodged in Head — Is It a Cop’s Round?
A man was shot in the head during a violent protest in South Africa, but survived. The victim sued in 2014, saying a cop had fired the round. A team of ballistics and chemistry experts have now demonstrated exacting computed tomography (CT) methodology...
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by Seth Augenstein
Senior Science Writer
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@SethAugenstein
5.16.2018
12:50pm
Witness Testimony
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Texas Death Row Inmates Push for Forensic Hypnosis Ban
Two Texas death row inmates are pushing for the state to ban forensic hypnosis in criminal cases. Hypnosis played a critical part in the arrest and conviction of Charles Don Flores, 48, and Kosoul Chanthakoummane, 37, the Dallas Morning News reported....
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by Associated Press
5.16.2018
11:09am
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Firearms
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Gun Safety Programs Do Not Prevent Children From Handling Firearms, Rutgers Study Finds
Children who participate in gun safety programs often ignore what they learned when encountering a real firearm, according to a Rutgers School of Nursing study.
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by Rutgers University
5.16.2018
11:01am
Digital Forensics
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UK: Police Mishandling Digital Evidence, Forensic Experts Warn
Police officers are trampling over vital forensic evidence, are under-trained, and often do not know what they are looking for, MPs investigating digital disclosure problems have been told.
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by Owen Bowcott, The Guardian
5.16.2018
10:42am
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