Convicted killer charged in grisly 1980 killing of teen mom (DNA)

Charges come after DNA match in cold case December 13, 2019 Nearly 40 years after a 19-year-old mother was raped and killed in a Boston hotel room, the man authorities believe is responsible for her death has been charged, the Suffolk District Attorney's office announced Thursday. Steven Fike, a convicted rapist and murderer currently imprisoned in...

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Wrongful conviction: 3 Baltimore men freed after spending 36 years in prison for teen's murder

Lawyers involved in the case said they were "horrified" to see the amount of exculpatory evidence that was hidden from the defense team and jury. November 26, 2019 Three Baltimore men who spent 36 years in prison were released Monday after authorities say they were falsely convicted of a 1983 murder. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins and Andrew Stewa...

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No jail time for Elizabeth Boro ex-police chief who stole heroin from evidence room

Butler explained he became addicted after taking prescribed Vicodin (opioid painkillers) for neck and back pain and blamed the doctors Enter Article DATE HERE Former Elizabeth Borough police Chief Timothy Butler will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to emptying his department's evidence room of thousands of packets of heroin to fe...

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Lawsuit by former Fairfield cop convicted of stealing drugs heads to trial

Police said signed out more than 225 folds of heroin, more than 800 OxyContin pills and a few packets of cocaine from the department's evidence room on the pretext of needing to have the drugs tested. November 13, 2019 BRIDGEPORT — A former Fairfield police detective will be allowed to sue the town over his resignation, a judge has ruled. A Superio...

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State criminal reform law could cost NYPD close to $100M, O'Neill says

O'Neill said, cops will effectively have to turn over lab reports and other evidence to prosecutors within about seven or eight days of a person being charged. November 6, 2019 Changes in the law governing criminal evidence as part of a package of New York State crime reform bills are expected to cost the NYPD close to $100 million, outgoing Police...

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Maryland approves $9 million settlement for five wrongly convicted men

The settlement covers money for each year the men served after sentencing, not their pretrial detention. November 2, 2019 The state of Maryland on Wednesday approved payments of about $9 million to five wrongly convicted men, including about $3 million — the state's largest-ever such settlement — to a man who spent 39 years in prison for a crime he...

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This groundbreaking DNA testing method solved a 1981 cold case

Clippings from Brown's fingernails were kept on file — and OCME experts used their newly developed technique to see if she'd captured some of her attacker's DNA when they grappled. October 21, 2019 The city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Tuesday will teach labs across the country about a groundbreaking forensics procedure that helped sol...

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Allegheny County DA’s Office Collects About 700 Guns In Annual Gun Turn-In Day

Local police departments who don't need to keep guns in their evidence room can turn them in to the district attorney's office. October 8, 2019 SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – About 700 guns from local law enforcement departments were collected by the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. The Allegheny County DA's Twitter account shared a photo...

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Narcotics cop busted for using confiscated Porsche on stepdaughter’s school prom day

Police said Coolen seized the Porsche Cayenne SUV on April 16 during a drug investigation that resulted in an arrest and placed it on a department property receipt,​ October 5, 2019 A 24-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department assigned to the Narcotics Field Unit was arrested Thursday and charged with using a 2018 Porsche he confiscated ...

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Seized guns, OT piling up for some sheriffs' offices

Valley officials support the law, which is meant to remove weapons from the hands of domestic abusers, Enter Article DATE HERE More than 1,200 seized weapons may be in the hands of the Valley's five county sheriffs offices at any given time, according to department officials. That number has been rising so much since a new state law was enacte...

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New federal rules will limit police searches of DNA ancestry databases

As genetic genealogy websites become more popular and individuals continue to voluntarily submit their DNA or enter their genetic profiles onto publically available genetic genealogy sites, the more biological information there is to compare with DNA samples from crime scenes. September 24, 2019 The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week releas...

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Beaver County Commissioner Sandie Egley questioned why the county has to take responsibility for seized weapons.

Enter Headline here September 4, 2019 BEAVER — A county commissioner is questioning why the county has to hold firearms surrendered as part of final protection-from-abuse orders. Commissioner Sandie Egley questioned Sheriff Tony Guy, who has been working with Beaver County Public Works to expand the size of his evidence room, about the requirements...

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Ex-Police Chief Admits to Stealing Heroin From Evidence Room

Authorities say Butler became addicted to heroin after he was prescribed Vicodin for neck and back pain. Enter Article DATE HERE ELIZABETH, PA. (AP) — A Pennsylvania community's former police chief has admitted stealing thousands of small bags of heroin and fentanyl from his department's evidence room. Timothy Butler pleaded guilty Wednesday t...

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Border protection stored enough fentanyl to kill 794 million, but isn’t doing enough to protect its agents

CBP said it has trained more than 4,500 officers in how to recognize the signs of an overdose, deployed 3,300 dual-use Narcan kits in the field and outfitted its storage vaults with safety equipment such as gloves, masks and Tyvek suits. July 20, 2019 (NEW YORK) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stored enough fentanyl in the past year to kil...

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More than 30 years later, a break in the death of a R.I. 10-year-old

A forensic scientist at the Rhode Island Department of Health determined on Wednesday that DNA from blood stains on the crotch of Christine's pants "was consistent" with the DNA profile of a man who was living above Saints Market when she stopped to buy milk on Jan. 6, 1988 July 18, 2019 PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A man who had lived above a market where a ...

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Audit: New Jersey Police Agencies Need Uniform Policies For Rape Kits


Establishing formal procedures for the handling of kits by local law-enforcement officials could help ensure that cases are handled uniformly across the state, but the audit found more than half of local law-enforcement agencies lacked written policies in critical areas. July 12, 2019 New Jersey does not have a backlog for processing rape kits at s...

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Audit: New Jersey Police Agencies Need Uniform Policies For Rape Kits


"The lack of policies and procedures, or the reliance on informal policies and procedures, can lead to inconsistent sexual assault investigations among various (law-enforcement agencies)," the report states. July 12, 2019 No backlog, but questions persist about why results of some exams were never processed at state forensic labs New Jersey does no...

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West Side police to dispose of drugs with incinerator

The device, which cost $4,500, will be available to the 27 police departments on the West Side that belong to the association. June 20, 2019 KINGSTON TWP. — Police on the West Side of Luzerne County now have a new way to dispose of drugs and paraphernalia: burn them up in an incinerator. The Back Mountain Police Association on Wednesday unveiled th...

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Feds seize over $1 billion of cocaine in historic bust in Philadelphia, officials say

Federal officials made a massive cocaine bust in Philadelphia Tuesday, seizing an estimated 16.5 tons of the drug from a ship there June 20, 2019 Federal officials made a massive cocaine bust in Philadelphia Tuesday, seizing an estimated 16.5 tons of the drug from a ship there -- with a street value of over $1 billion, officials said. The historic ...

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DNA evidence exonerates man who spent 35 years behind bars for murder, lawyers say

"For the last 35 years, he has been confined to a prison cell, without family, without friends for a crime he didn't commit," said Radha Natarajan, of The New England Innocence Project. May 31, 2019 MILFORD, Mass. — Lawyers for a Taunton man who has spent 35 years in prison for the murder of his great aunt are asking for a new trial to vacate his c...

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Former Fairview Township Police officer loses appeal of federal conviction for stealing drug money

Baker claimed at trial that he only intended to keep the stolen money temporarily, but prosecutors pointed out there was no way for him to return the cash once he took it. May 31, 2019 YORK COUNTY — A former Fairview Township Police officer serving time in federal prison for stealing cash while on duty had his felony theft convictions upheld by a f...

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Harvey Cedars detective, the mayor's son, is charged with theft of silver necklace

He was the custodian of the department's evidence during the theft of the jewelry, valued at more than $200, authorities said.​ June 14, 2019 HARVEY CEDARS - A borough detective, son of Mayor Jonathan Oldham, has been charged with theft in connection with a silver necklace found missing from the evidence room during an audit. Christopher Oldham, 32...

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Kathleen Flynn cold case homicide: Suspect tracked for decades

The warrant details the process on how other suspects in Kathleen's murder were eliminated through DNA testing and hair samples. June 14, 2019 ORWALK — Marc Karun first popped onto police radar as a potential suspect two weeks after Kathleen Flynn was found sexually assaulted and strangled to death near Ponus Ridge Middle School in September 1986. ...

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Police said a trooper collapsed from an incidental overdose. Now they’re saying nothing.


The substance that he handled during a traffic stop shortly before his collapse turned out to be heroin, a less potent drug, undercutting Birmingham's theory that Flansburg suffered from an overdose from contact with powerful synthetic opioids. Enter Article DATE HERE Before Vermont's public safety commissioner publicly concluded that one of h...

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State Police probe alleged theft of gun parts from evidence

It is at least the second time since 2013 that State Police have conducted an internal investigation of allegations that its members were stealing items from evidence lockers. June 1, 2019 CATSKILL — An internal State Police investigation is probing allegations that a longtime investigator assigned to the Catskill barracks has for years been removi...

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Former Steelton cop gets probation for stealing money from evidence department

Rupert stole money from the Steelton Police Department evidence room from Aug. 19, 2009, until "on or about" Feb. 20, 2017. May 2, 2019 Former Steelton police officer Scott Rupert was sentenced to two years' probation in Dauphin County Court on April 4 after pleading guilty to stealing money from the department evidence room. Rupert, 47, of Newberr...

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After scandal, ‘nothing to hide’ in new Braintree police evidence room

Braintree police are about to put a one-of-a-kind, $500,000 evidence room into service, built in response to a scandal that shook the department. April 18, 2019 BRAINTREE − There's a whole lot of glass inside the Braintree Police Department's new evidence room, but not a single window to the outside. From where the evidence officers sit, they can l...

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Former Kenmore police chief gets probation for stealing painkillers

He claims he used just a few each week. "He was in excruciating pain," said defense attorney Thomas Eoannou. April 13, 2019 Even though he stole painkillers from a community drop box, Peter J. Breitnauer says he was never an addict. The 32-year veteran of the Kenmore Police Department, who spent the last six as police chief, also says he is now fre...

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Backlog of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania could be cleared by this fall

The backlog of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania has dropped almost 90 percent -- from more than 3,000 in 2016 to 339 by the end of 2018, the state's auditor general announced on Thursday. April 11, 2019 y Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com The backlog of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania has dropped almost 90 percent -- from more than 3,000 ...

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Trenton cop who allegedly stole from evidence room gets PTI, loses job

He was also required to give up his $105K-a-year job on the force April 10, 2019 TRENTON — Hector Gonzalez's sticky hands have landed him in the unemployment line, but he managed to avoid jail and a felony record as part of a sweetheart deal with prosecutors. The Trenton cop quietly charged with stealing from the police evidence room agreed to give...

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New Elizabeth Borough police chief working to move department past scandal

Chief Tim Butler, who resigned before being charged with stealing drugs from the evidence locker April 5, 2019 ELIZABETH BOROUGH, Pa. - Nearly four months after a scandal rocked the Elizabeth Borough Police Department, the new chief is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. In a one-on-one interview with Channel 11, new Police Chief Bil...

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DNA Evidence Backlog Has Soared by 85 Percent

Police are submitting more DNA requests than ever, creating backlogs that can last five months or longer. Enter Article DATE HERE Backlogs at state and local crime labs in testing DNA evidence from crime scenes nearly doubled between 2011 and 2017, despite $1 billion spent by the federal government since 2004 to reduce endemic delays, the nonp...

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DNA, genealogy used to solve cold case rapes, homicide in Rockville

Cold case detectives are investigating other crimes that Day may have committed. March 15, 2019 Montgomery County police have identified a suspect in two cold case rapes and a homicide that happened in Rockville, Maryland, in 1989 and 1994. The suspect, Kenneth Earl Day, died in March 2017 in West Virginia, at 52 years old. Investigators collected ...

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Rape Kit Tests: New York, feds join to get 100,000 sexual assault cases sent for DNA testing around US

"That backlog not only undermined justice and the perception, and reality, of equality - it also made every woman and every American less safe," he said. March 13, 2109 NEW YORK -- Languishing evidence in over 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities,...

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Police make arrest in 30-year-old cold case of a murdered Philly woman

Voci says with the developments in DNA and other technologies, this case should serve as an example to families of cold case victims. March 14, 2019 PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Police have arrested the former boyfriend of a Philadelphia woman, found dead in Montgomery County 30 years ago. It was November 1, 1988 state police found the body of 3...

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Man arrest in connection with 2002 Hartford cold case murder

This work relies upon the latest investigative techniques and the newest technology, including highly sophisticated DNA analysis March 9, 2019 HARTFORD — Hartford police and the Office of the Chief State's Attorney Cold Case Unit made an arrest in 2002 cold case murder. James Raynor was charged on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, while serving a 37 year pri...

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Hartford police make arrest in 2002 cold case homicide

The homicide took place on May 10, 2002 just before 9 p.m. on Center Street. March 6, 2019 HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – Hartford Police have made an arrest in a 2002 cold case homicide. The homicide took place on May 10, 2002 just before 9 p.m. on Center Street. Harry Baez, 25, was shot and killed. On Tuesday, March 5, 2019, police arrested James Raynor i...

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Police solve 1966 New Hampshire cold case murder


Fingerprints found on a sink at the scene were collected by investigators back in 1966 and sent to the FBI. February 22, 2019 CONCORD, N.H. (WCAX) Police in New Hampshire say they have solved a 50-year-old murder mystery using evidence collected at the time of the crime. In 1966, Everett Delano was shot and killed during a robbery at an auto repair...

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Man indicted for 1992 cold case murder

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE A murder that has gone unsolved since 1992 may finally get a resolution after Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced an indictment of a 56-year-old man who allegedly shot a woman dead and left her naked on a rooftop in Brownsville. Calvin Grant was officially indicted on Friday after oral...

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Former Steelton officer accused of stealing approximately $1,000 from department’s evidence room

Police evidence computer user history which revealed that Rupert was the last officer who handled the missing currency, JANUARY 18,2019 DAUPHIN COUNTY — A former Steelton Police officer has been charged with a misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking, court documents show. Scott Rupert, 47, is accused of stealing approximately $1,000 from the ...

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Former Kenmore police chief pleads guilty to stealing painkillers from DROP BOX

Admitted he stole painkillers from a community drop box January 10, 2019 Peter J. Breitnauer, a 34-year veteran of the Kenmore Police Department, the last six as police chief, stood in front of a federal judge Thursday and admitted he stole painkillers from a community drop box. The 68-year-old lifelong village resident also admitted storing the st...

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Prosecutor: Trooper faces missing evidence investigation

State Police confirm Roos was temporarily relieved of duty January 8, 2019 DERBY, Vt. (AP) A Vermont county prosecutor says a state trooper is under investigation in connection with a report of missing evidence. According to records, Derby-based Sgt. David Roos was placed on paid leave in December without explanation. The Caledonian-Record reports ...

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Former Elizabeth Borough chief charged with stealing drug evidence

Thousands of empty bags of heroin were found throughout Butler's office, authorities said. December 21, 2018 Former Elizabeth Borough police Chief Timothy Butler, who resigned Tuesday night, is accused of stealing drugs from the department's evidence room. Thousands of empty bags of heroin were found throughout Butler's office, authorities said. He...

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This Maryland cop went from a decorated commander to raiding evidence room for drugs. And he's not alone.


"It's like you're putting them in the candy store" December 17, 2018 Every mile brought Lt. Dan Gosnell closer to relief. His body ached for the little white pills, though his mind shouted to turn back. "What the hell are you doing?" the young police commander asked himself out loud. His pickup cruised east through Harford County. The Aberdeen poli...

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Trenton cop under investigation for alleged theft from evidence room


It's unclear at this point what may have been stolen from the evidence room, a secure facility at TPD headquarters that is under constant surveillance because of the sensitive items stored there for criminal cases. Enter Article DATE HERE TRENTON — A city police officer was suspended this week while authorities investigate allegations that he ...

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How investigators cracked unsolved murder of Harvard graduate student nearly 50 years later


"We now feel confident that the man identified as Michael Sumpter entered Jane's apartment through the window, assaulted her, murdered her in her bed and then fled the apartment," Ryan told reporters Tuesday. Enter Article DATE HERE Investigators finally have cracked a cold case murder that has haunted the Boston area for almost 50 years. The ...

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Anne Arundel police use new DNA technology to close 2010 cold case


Parabon used a technology to create a drawing of the alleged suspect based on his DNA. Enter Article DATE HERE Anne Arundel County police used new DNA technology combined with shoe-leather police work to make an arrest in a eight-year-old cold case shooting death. Michael Temple died in 2015, five years after he was shot during a home invasion...

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US: Ex-cop Pleads Guilty in Police Corruption Scandal


Court documents say that in October 2016, Rayam and other officers were chasing a suspect who suddenly threw nine ounces of cocaine out of his car window. Instead of placing the drugs in the police evidence room, Rayam suggested selling them. November 8, 2018 A Philadelphia police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to selling drugs with corrupt member...

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Feds charge WNY police chief with drug possession


Breitnauer was taking prescription pills from the New York State Medication Drop Box located at the Kenmore Police Station October 6, 2018 A western New York police chief has been charged with drug possession. Kenmore Village Police Chief Peter Breitnauer was charged Friday with possession of hydrocodone after a federal investigation, according to ...

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Seven Wilmington first responders receive accidental dose of fentanyl through misplaced fan


​Five Wilmington firefighters and two police officers were hospitalized Thursday after they inhaled the dangerous opioid fentanyl while responding to a drug overdose, police said. September 7, 2018 Five Wilmington firefighters and two police officers were hospitalized Thursday after they inhaled the dangerous opioid fentanyl while responding to a d...

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