As investigators spent years looking for a suspect, a key clue was buried in their files. Could they have solved the case years earlier? Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Forensic Science”
‘Nightmare’ Warehouse Fire Erases Evidence in Many Unsolved Cases
By Gotham Rex on December 14, 2022
Lawyers say evidence in cold cases and bids for exoneration disappeared or was ruined when a Police Department storage facility in Brooklyn went up in flames. Source: New York Times
‘What a Horrible Place This Would Have Been’
By Gotham Rex on August 8, 2022
Archaeologists found the remains of 14 soldiers who died in a pivotal Revolutionary War battle — a fresh reminder of the violence of war. Source: New York Times
40 Years After Her Murder, ‘Princess Doe’ Has a Name
By Gotham Rex on July 15, 2022
She was found dead in a New Jersey cemetery in 1982 and became known worldwide as Princess Doe. On Friday, she was identified as Dawn Olanick, 17. Source: New York Times
‘Torso Killer’ Charged in Strangulation of Long Island Woman in 1968
By Gotham Rex on June 22, 2022
DNA evidence linked Richard Cottingham to the killing of Diane Cusick, prompting Nassau County prosecutors to review 13 years of unsolved murders of women. Source: New York Times
This Database Stores the DNA of 31,000 New Yorkers. Is It Illegal?
By Gotham Rex on March 22, 2022
A database used by the New York Police Department violates state law and the Constitution, the Legal Aid Society contends in a lawsuit. Source: New York Times
9/11 Victims Are Still Being Identified, 20 Years Later
By Gotham Rex on September 7, 2021
The medical examiner’s office is still working painstakingly to identify 9/11 victims. There are 1,106 victims whose remains have not been found. Source: New York Times
Trying to Find Your Mother’s Remains From Ground Zero, 20 Years Later
By Gotham Rex on September 6, 2021
The medical examiner’s office is still working painstakingly to identify 9/11 victims. There are 1,106 victims whose remains have not been found. Source: New York Times
Queens Man Is Charged in 1976 Killing of Pregnant Teenager Evelyn Colon
By Gotham Rex on April 5, 2021
Luis Sierra, 63, of Ozone Park, was arrested this week in the killing of Evelyn Colon, a Jersey City 15-year-old whose dismembered remains were found along a riverbank in Pennsylvania, the authorities said. Source: New York Times
The Gilgo Beach Murders Were a Cold Case. Then a New Police Chief Arrived.
By Gotham Rex on September 25, 2020
After a decade of little movement in a series of killings on Long Island, a new sense of urgency. Source: New York Times
36 Years Later, Police Arrest Suspect in Rape and Killing of a 14-Year-Old
By Gotham Rex on September 11, 2020
Using DNA evidence, the authorities in Rochester, N.Y., said that they had charged Timothy L. Williams of Melbourne, Fla., with murdering Wendy Jerome on Thanksgiving Day in 1984. Source: New York Times
Peter V. Tytell, a Typewriter Whisperer, Is Dead at 74
By Gotham Rex on August 18, 2020
Raised in his parents’ typewriter repair shop, he became renowned for his ability to help resolve disputes over documents’ authenticity. Source: New York Times