• Charlotte County Cold Case Unit Identifies Victim In Decades-Old Homicide Case

    July 29, 2024
    Skeletal remains discovered more than 20 years ago in Charlotte County have been identified thanks to DNA technology. read more
  • Collier County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1985 John Doe

    July 29, 2024
    In February 1985, a man was walking on N. 2nd Street in Immokalee, Florida when he collapsed. Immokalee is a city located just southeast of Fort Myers. The man was drinking a beer and it was initially believed that he was intoxicated. Toxicology tests were negative, and it was ultimately determined that the man died due to natural causes. read more
  • DeKalb County District Attorney's Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2020 John Doe

    July 29, 2024
    In October 2020, the remains belonging to an unidentified individual were discovered in Tucker, Georgia. Tucker is a city located just northeast of Atlanta. A lawn maintenance crew discovered the remains right behind a business parking lot near a tree line. read more
  • Former Federal Correctional Officer Faces Additional Charges Involving Sexual Abuse of Inmates and a Federal Civil Rights Violation

    July 29, 2024
    A federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment yesterday charging former correctional officer Darrell Wayne Smith with 15 counts of sexual abuse, including a civil rights violation, against five female victims who were inmates under his custody and control at Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin (FCI Dublin). read more
  • Police in the UK Use Forensic Spray to Tag Illegal Bikers

    July 29, 2024
    Police departments in the United Kingdom are using a “forensic spray” to tag motorcyclists, e-bikes and other small vehicle riders that are causing a nuisance in Manchester. read more
  • More Loci, More Info: Next-gen CE STR Analysis

    July 26, 2024
    In this video interview, Anupama Gopalakrishnan, Sr. Product Manager at Promega, discusses the pros and cons of different types of DNA analysis. Gopalakrishnan also gives an update on Promega's new Spectrum CE System that can detect up to 8 dyes, allowing amplification of more loci and better results with degraded samples. read more
  • Suspect Arrested in 21-Year-Old Cold Case Homicide Investigation

    July 24, 2024
    On September 4, 2003, at approximately 2:15p.m., the Henderson Police and Fire Departments responded to the 200 block of Gold Street in reference to a female occupant located deceased inside of a residence. read more
  • Long Island Man Sentenced To 25 Years After Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Caused Four Deaths

    July 24, 2024
    Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Marquis Douglas, a narcotics trafficker who operated a narcotics business that was responsible for the distribution of large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and other illicit substances throughout the North Fork of Long Island, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 25 years’ imprisonment. Douglas pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than one kilogram of heroin, more than 280 grams of crack cocaine, more than 40 grams of fentanyl and a quantity of fentanyl analogue (fluorofentanyl), and distribution of cocaine and fluorofentanyl on or about August 12, 2021, which resulted in the overdose deaths of four people. read more
  • Hartford Man Gets Life for Double Murder and Witness Tampering

    July 24, 2024
    Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin announced today that the Honorable Michael J. Gustafson on July 18, 2024 sentenced Brandon Letman, age 31, to life in prison without the possibility of release for the 2016 fatal shootings of Ashley Spence, age 21, and Cameron Mounds Jr., age 19, in Hartford. read more
  • Genetic Geanology Helps Cops Nab Suspected 1982 Murderer, Rapist

    July 24, 2024
    The Cloverdale Police Department announced on July 22 they have arrested Willows resident James Unick, 62, and charged him with the murder of Sarah Greer, 13 at the time. Unick was charged with Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, and Lew and Lascivious acts with a minor under 14-years-old by force. read more
  • Shifting Perspectives in the Drug War: Identifying Patterns with AI

    July 23, 2024
    For decades, investigators tackled the scourge of drugs on the streets, chasing down leads on individual suspects one at a time. This person-centered approach—while crucial—has limitations. It is reactive, labor-intensive and often struggles to keep pace with the evolving tactics of drug traffickers. read more
  • Suspect Identified in Half-Century-Old Cold Case

    July 22, 2024
    The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office has developed probable cause resolving the 1963 Homicide of Wayne Pratt. Sheriff's Detectives, working with multiple specialized DNA companies and laboratories, have identified a suspect in this more than half-century-old cold case. read more
  • Saline County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 2021 Doe

    July 22, 2024
    April 2021, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered by a group of friends hunting for mushrooms in a wooded area just west of the city of Salina in Saline County, Kansas. As they walked between the railroad track and a water-filled creek, the group came across the remains and called local law enforcement. read more
  • Man Charged With Two Sexual Assaults That Occurred 33 Years Ago

    July 22, 2024
    On Wednesday 17 July 2024, Special Crime Squad –Cold Case detectives charged a 54-year-old man with seven offences as a result of their investigation into two serious sexual assaults that occurred between 1990 and 1991. read more
  • 40 Years Later, Suspect Arrested in Holly Campiglia Case

    July 22, 2024
    Justice more than 40 years after the sexual assault and murder of Holly Campiglia. Yesterday’s, Holly’s killer was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The road to yesterday’s sentencing has taken many turns. read more
  • Advancements In DNA Technology Allow Police In Florida To Solve 1999 Murder

    July 22, 2024
    Police in Florida were able to utilize new technology to identify the owner of a knife with blood and other DNA samples on it to make an arrest in a nearly 25 year old previously cold case homicide. read more
  • Honolulu Police Asking For The Public's Assistance To Solve Decades-Old Cold Case

    July 17, 2024
    On September 28, 2010, at approximately 11:00 a.m., unidentified human remains were discovered by a construction crew in the Manoa area. It was determined that the skull sustained a gunshot wound and that the remains were placed there under suspicious circumstances. read more
  • Baytown Police Department & FBI Leverage Othram’s Forensic Sequencing Platform to Identify a 1992 Homicide Victim

    July 17, 2024
    In April 1992, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in the 700 block of Tri City Beach Road in Baytown, Texas. Baytown is a city just east of Houston. Baytown Police Department responded to the scene. It was determined that the remains were that of a black male who was 5’9” tall, partially clothed, and covered in multiple sheets and blankets. The man was found lying face down in a concrete drainage ditch just south of the Southern Pacific Railroad. read more
  • 10-Year Investigation Leads To Arrest In Mesquite Assault Case

    July 17, 2024
    Almost a decade ago on September 2, 2014, Mesquite Police were dispatched to the 3500 block of Moon Drive, after a resident located a female victim lying on the side of their house. The victim had been savagely beaten, leaving her unconscious with severe injuries to her head and face. During the investigation officers learned the victim, prior to the offense, was a disabled individual and was also sexually assaulted during the offense. read more
  • Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Teams with Othram to Identify a 2020 John Doe

    July 17, 2024
    In April 2020, the remains of an unidentified individual were found on the shoreline of Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts. Revere is located 5 miles northeast of Boston. Investigators responded to the scene where they determined that the remains were that of a male. The man was between the ages of 50 and 70 years old, stood approximately 5’11” tall, and weighed 182 pounds. At the time of the man’s discovery, he was wearing a black sweatshirt, a red and blue shirt, denim pants, and a pair of blue socks and white socks. No other identifying clues were available. read more