Author Profile

‘Drug Checking’ Could Become Common as Opioid Crisis Worsens
March 16, 2022
Rapid detection strips fall into the broader category of “drug checking,” which uses simple identification methods to tell drug users exactly what is in the drugs they plan to take. read more
62 Years Later, 'Little Miss Nobody' is Identified
March 16, 2022
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday the previously unidentified little girl whose burned remains were found over 60 years ago in the Arizona desert was 4-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos of New Mexico. read more
Investigators Exhume Body of 1990 Homicide Victim in Hopes of Generating New Leads
March 16, 2022
At the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Sussex County Medical Examiner and a New Jersey State Police Anthropologist performed an examination and collected relevant evidence. read more
Non-profit to Help Las Vegas Police with Animal Abuse Cases
March 16, 2022
Hearts Alive Village has entered into a contract with Clark County to provide forensics veterinary medicine and care for animals who are suspected victims of abuse and neglect, the first non-profit to do so. read more
Counties that Rely on the Courts for Revenue Sentence More Women to Incarceration
March 16, 2022
In Washington state, many counties have supplemented their revenues through fines, such as traffic citations and court processing fees. Those counties have increased the rate at which they sentence women to jail. read more
Rape Victim Sues After DNA Used to Self-incriminate in Unrelated Case
March 14, 2022
The woman whose DNA from a sexual assault kit was used by San Francisco police to arrest her in an unrelated property crime six years later plans to sue the city. Three days earlier, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and California State Senator Scott Wiener announced legislation to ensure this invasion of privacy never occurs again. read more
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify Tortoise Reserve Doe
March 14, 2022
After 20 years, homicide victim Richard Wayne Guarro has been identified and an investigation into his death is in progress. read more
Genetic Genealogy Helps Oklahoma Cold Case Unit ID Dismembered Body Found in 1995
March 14, 2022
It was difficult to identify Bentivegna at the time because her feet, hands and head were removed from her body. read more
UK Police Force Sees Pay off From Digital Forensic Focus Over Past 2 Years
March 14, 2022
A recent investigation revealed a backlog of more than 20,000 digital devices waiting to be examined by forces across England and Wales. Nottinghamshire Police, however, have just 31 phones, tablets and computers waiting to be examined. read more
Forensic Psychiatry Expert Consults on Cases in Guantanamo Bay, The Hague
March 14, 2022
Charles Morgan is a national security professor at the University of New Haven and an expert on the impact that stress and harsh interrogation techniques can have on human memory. read more
Study Evaluates Prevalence of Violence in Missing and Unidentified Persons Cases
March 11, 2022
Researchers used text mining of NamUs case entries to classify cases as violent or nonviolent based on designated keywords, and then they examined additional case information to compare specific characteristics of violent versus non-violent cases. read more
Prosecutors Seek DNA Testing for Case Made Famous by 'Serial' Podcast
March 11, 2022
The two sides agreed the Baltimore City Police Lab should retest certain items collected as evidence in the 1999 killing of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee using DNA technology that was not available for Syed’s trials. read more
Genetic Genealogy Unravels ID of Jane Doe Once Thought to be Victim of Robert Lee Yates
March 11, 2022
For some period of time, Barnes was suspected to be another victim of the "Spokane Serial Murder," later identified as Robert Lee Yates, even though she did not fit the profile of Yates' other victims, due to similarities in the killers' methods. read more
Genetic Genealogy, DNA From Bite Mark Lead to Suspect in 1994 Cold Case Murder
March 11, 2022
Nearly 28 years ago, Cheri Huss was found stabbed to death inside her Desert Hot Springs apartment. Her case went cold until last month. read more
A Look Inside the 1st Official ‘Safe Injection Sites’ in U.S.
March 11, 2022
Equipped and staffed to reverse overdoses, New York City’s new, privately run “overdose prevention centers” are a bold and contested response to a storm tide of opioid overdose deaths nationwide. read more
Othram IDs 1980 Homicide Victim After 9 Previous Attempts
March 09, 2022
A clay reconstruction of the homicide victim's face was developed and released to the public by the end of 1980, but yielded no clues as to who this unknown man was. read more
More Research Needed on How Insects can Reveal Drugs, Poisons at Crime Scenes
March 09, 2022
Researchers are developing ways to detect a range of drugs and other substances commonly found in the suspicious death of humans and animals. read more
The Key to Convicting Human Traffickers
March 09, 2022
Tattoos, electric shock devices, and plastic bracelets. These are examples of the kinds of objects and physical abuses deployed by human traffickers to control, torture, and brand their victims, and which are crucial to securing a conviction. read more
New University Crime Scene House Offers an Immersive Forensic Experience
March 09, 2022
After spending years processing mock murders in the cramped confines of a small storage room, forensic science students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are now getting to stretch their crime scene investigation skills. read more
Utah’s Commercial Genetic Genealogy Database Bill Fails
March 09, 2022
A bill addressing law enforcements use of genetic genealogy DNA databases like GEDmatch and Ancestry failed to pass the Utah House of Representatives late last week amid concerns it was not specific enough to prevent police “fishing expeditions.” read more