She was more than that, she was a victim. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Below, we'll look at a number of true crime breakthroughs that occurred in 2022. Upon further testing, Loves blood was found to be mixed in with other samples of Reeds blood taken from the scene of the murder. Tamika Reyes was only nine years old when her mother, 26-year-old Anna Kane, was found strangled and left in the woods outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1988. 2. She also said DeRoos strangled her once, the same way Curran died. The man who would eventually be named as her killer, Raymond Moody, had been a person of interest in Brittanee Drexel's disappearance as far back as 2012 but until just recently, they had nothing solid connecting him to the crime. The case was solved through modern DNA and genealogy technology and the careful preservation of evidence from the crime scene in 1971. Anna Kane. In 1971, Melissa Highsmith was 22 months old when a babysitter kidnapped her in Fort Worth, TX. When the officers arrived, they found the pair lying in the middle of the roadway next to the mothers car, both shot in the head, the document said. Like so many other cold cases, the eventual identification of the killer hinged on one thing: The collection of DNA evidence at the scene of the murder, and its careful preservation. Missing Melissa Highsmith's mother poses next to a composite sketch of her daughter's suspected kidnapper in a Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper article. A Warner Bros. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Highsmith family had just moved to the Fort Worth area, and Melissa's mother placed a local newspaper ad seeking a babysitter. DeRoos was found dead of a drug overdose in a hotel room in 1986. They lived in the same apartment building as Curran. Dennis Perry, center, standing beside wife Brenda Perry gets emotional while thanking the team from the Georgia Innocence Project after they worked to get his release after 20 years behind bars, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Nicholls, Ga. Cottingham, now 73, has said he has killed as many as 100 people in New Jersey and New York and is already spending life in prison for the 1960 murders of several females. The Hazelton, Pennsylvania, girl was found later the same afternoon, raped and strangled. Market data provided by Factset. After what investigators called an exhaustive process, nine family trees were created with nearly 1,300 people connected to Robertson either through blood or marriage. DNA WINS THIS SEARCH! Did you encounter any technical issues? Witness testimony and even the confession of an alleged victim brought varying levels of closure to unsolved crimes. Syed was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 but has maintained his innocence all along. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 3:28 PM EST, Thu February 17, 2022. Two years later, in 1989, a California woman, Renee Cuevas, was also found murdered. The bodies of Falcon-Dewey and her son were discovered on October 28, 1994, after a Seattle Times newspaper delivery person called 911 and reported seeing the mothers body, according to a probable cause document. When Diane Lynn Dahn missed her shift at the San Diego Transit Corporation on May 2, 1988, a coworker went to her apartment to check on her. The answers that my family received is closure and closure is everything even after so much time had passed.. Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Forte you would need to search over 4 million planet earths.. More than 27 years after a woman and her son were killed in a Seattle suburb, authorities have charged a man in their deaths. 2023 Cable News Network. Through further testing and genealogical research, the blood on Madgers clothing was identified as matching the DNA of one Stephen Simcak. Melissa, who had been living in Fort Worth the whole time, met her parents for the first time on November 26 at age 53. Applying Modern Investigation Methods to Solve Cold Cases. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM MELISSA HIGHSMITH The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo. In February 2019, DNA from Baggens clothes and body was submitted to a public genealogy database after previous attempts to match the DNA had been unsuccessful. A blood sample found in Louises car back in October 1989 was tested for DNA. [10], 1980s cold case murders solved, O.C. This, combined with re-interviewing witnesses and reviewing statements, led investigators to finally gather enough evidence for an arrest. When they did, the now-elderly killer presumably weary from looking over his shoulder for 45 years broke down and confessed to the crime. That is, until 2019, when Detective Sgt. The night of July 19, the couple had a fight and William DeRoos went for a walk to get some air. These companies then send back information on their clients ethnic heritage, genetic health risks and family tree as well as a raw data file of their DNA. Moody had been a suspect since 2012, but it was not immediately made public what evidence led to his arrest. Police said Josephs parents have since died, and no one claimed the child or reported him missing at the time his remains were discovered. But, after 52 years, Curran's family finally has closure. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. An undated image of Sharon Gallegos. I went to the streets. In Alabama: A college student disappeared in 1976. Nothing, that is, until 2018, when an amateur cold case enthusiast came forward with one tiny detail after police reopened the case. Missing Melissa Highsmith reunited with family. To law enforcement agencies everywhere, arguably one of the greatest of these technologies would be the myriad uses of DNA profiling and, more recently, forensic genealogy. That is, until 2022, when police identified a suspect. Richard Cottingham and victim Diane Cusick. "The DNA evidence ended up being so incredibly key," Moore said. This is fourth oldest cold case to be solved in in the country using genetic genealogy and the oldest in the state of Pennsylvania, according to state police Cpl. In the summer of 1960, the body of a young girl was found near a highway in Yavapai Country, Arizona. All Rights Reserved. In this case, it led back to Rueben Smith. More evidence, including Curran's clothes, was sent to a lab in Florida in 2022 where they performed new DNA-extracting techniques. In the 36 years since, the case was passed to many detectives, all to no avail. Richard Cottingham and victim Diane Cusick. Rita Curran was violently murdered in her Vermont apartment in 1971 - and the case remained a mystery for decades. Patrick Gilham pleaded no contest to murder of Roxanne Wood. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. - The suspect in a 1983 cold case murder is believed to be a Florida sheriff's deputy who worked in several counties, including in Central Florida, according to the St. Lucie. Stacy Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Jacob Dewey, were found shot dead on October 28, 1994, in Renton, Washington. She also plans to remarry her current husband so her father can walk her down the aisle. We were fortunate enough to have most of the related family cooperate and provide us their DNA samples.. In 2007, Anita Knutson was a student attending Minot State University in North Dakota. While Rice told police the two were best friends, others in their circle reported that the two weren't getting along, and that Knutson was afraid of Rice. But, after 52 years, Curran's family finally has closure. Before the judge overturned the conviction, prosecutors in Baltimore had asked for a new trial the previous week. NEBRASKA MAN ID'D AS MINNESOTA COLD CASE MURDER VICTIM, The real Melissa Highsmith beside a colorized photo illustration of what she was believed to look like from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Four-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarellis remains were discovered inside a box and abandoned in Philadelphias Fox Chase neighborhood Feb. 25, 1957. Soon after the murder, William DeRoos left his then-wife, moved to Thailand and became a monk. I knew," Jeff Highsmith said. But while her killer was soon arrested and convicted, her identity turned out to be a longer mystery. Ten years later, investigators opened Dahns case again, looking for new leads and use of new technology. She was strangled in 1988. However, in 2020, Bedford Police Sgt. The investigation determined that Forte was the suspect in Chiverellas death. The team has. REMAINS OF LITTLE MISS NOBODY IDD AS NEW MEXICO GIRL, 4, ABDUCTED IN 1960 AND FOUND IN ARIZONA DESERT. The woman allegedly offered her clothes and sweets, but she refused, at which point she was forced into the vehicle. Published: Apr. After she hadn't been responding to calls from her family, her father and two maintenance workers made their way into her apartment. This time, it wasn't advances in DNA technology that helped crack the case, but in technology of a different sort: GPS. Pennsylvania state police was founded in 1905, so over half of our existence weve investigated this case, said Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Devon Brutosky during Thursdays news conference. On July 31, 1960, the decomposed body of a small child, dubbed "Little Miss Nobody" was found just outside of Congress, Arizona in Yavapai County and she was never formally identified. Over 4,000 pages of information have been compiled in this case over the years. Brett Bowen sent DNA from Loves sexual assault for advanced DNA testing and forensic genealogy. The murder of 33-year-old Santa Cruz, California, restaurant owner Joette Smith was precipitated by what should have been an innocuous circumstance. Follow reporterLilly St. Angelo onTwitter: @lilly_st_ang. To confirm, Forte was exhumed last month so that investigators could take a DNA sample to match the suspects profile. Tamika Reyes: "No child should ever have to grow up without their mom.". For 34 years, Reyes, along with her two brothers and their grandmother, have wondered who killed Kane. these two cold cases were finally solved after decades in 2022, thanks to genetic genealogy and witnesses coming forward. A man named Steve Branch was identified as a person of interest. A college student disappeared in 1976. Cold Cases We Were Surprised And Relieved To See Finally Solved Rima Pundir February 23, 2022 2.9k votes 606 voters 31.4k views List Rules Vote up all the cold cases that were closed in unexpected ways. FOLEY, Ala. ( WALA) - Twenty-two years ago, a man's body was pulled from Styx River in . (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP). The more than four decades old homicide case of Wilkowitz has finally been solved and the identity of the killer is now known, Suffolk . She met with a group of Jesus People to retrieve the car and ask about her son, but says they told her he'd joined their group and was cutting off ties. In addition, forensic genetic genealogy has given back the names of Jane and John Does who had remained unidentified for decades. If convicted, Jones would face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, the documents said. 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