Recovering Hair and Semen from Clothing after a Sexual Assault

When recovering biological evidence from a crime scene it must be handled with extreme caution, as it is highly perishable. This article discusses the recovery of hair and semen from bedding and clothing left at the scene after a sexual assault. After an initial search of the scene—done to locate the evidence—the evidence should be well photographed and videotaped. Also, it should be noted that investigators must wear protective clothing—at all times, no matter what evidence is being collected—changing them every time new evidence is collected, as well as using tools, such as tweezers and so on.

Frantic 911 Call Reveals ‘Three Girls Kidnapped Nearly a Decade Ago’

A miraculous discovery was made yesterday, as three girls who had been kidnapped and held for nearly a decade were all found alive in a house in Cleveland, OH. Amanda Berry (left) disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, on her way home from her job at Burger King. Gina DeJesus (right) vanished at age 14 on her way home from school, about a year after Berry’s disappearance. Michelle Knight was also found in the house; she had disappeared in 2002 at age 20 and is 32 now. They were found just a few miles from where they had vanished.

The Shane Todd Case: An International Corporate Conspiracy

Back in June of 2012, Montana native, Shane Todd [31], was found dead in his apartment in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. Police ruled the death a suicide, reporting that Todd had concocted an elaborate pulley system involving a series of ropes and screws in the bathroom wall where he hung himself. Shane’s parents, Rick and Mary Todd; however, believe something very different happened to their son: they believe he was murdered. Shane Todd moved to Singapore for work; he was an engineer working for a top technology firm, Institute of Microelectronics (IME), in the island nation. Just before his death, Shane resigned from his position from IME's research department and made preparations to move back to the United States. Shane told his parents that he resigned from the tech company because his work on superconductors for IME might have been passed to China’s Huawei Corporation, for use in systems that could involve jamming U.S. radar.

Dalia Dippolito Calling for “New Trial”

It’s a story straight out of a made-for-TV movie. Police waited for newly married Dalia Dippolito to return to home to inform her that her husband, Michael Dippolito, had been murdered. However, he was not dead. Instead, police set up the scene to record her reaction. They had already had her on tape paying an undercover officer, unbeknownst to her, to kill her husband. It was a very unique murder-for-hire sting operation. 

Just as bizarre was the trial, wherein Dalia claimed the unprecedented “reality-TV defense,” in which she claimed her and her husband set up the whole thing because they wanted to get a reality show. Michael Dippolito called the accusation “ridiculous.” After a three-week trial in 2011, Dalia was convicted of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath, who called Dalia “pure evil” during his sentencing remarks.

Amanda Knox to face “Retrial”

The Supreme Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, met this morning in Rome at 10:00 a.m. and overturned the acquittals of both Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. The ruling means that the case against Knox and Sollecito will be sent back to be reheard at an appeals court in Florence. Italy’s highest Court ruled today on questions of procedure, not on the merits of a case. This should make Knox’s upcoming interview on Diane Sawyer a bit more interesting, to say the least. An extradition will only be requested once a definitive conviction is reached. At which point, the conviction would then have to be upheld by the Court of Cassation again. We could be looking at another year or so.

Italian Supreme Court Set to Rule on Amanda Knox Verdict

The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation is scheduled to rule on the prosecution’s appeal of the Amanda Knox appeal verdict tomorrow. In 2011, Knox and her Italian boyfriend at the time Raffaele Sollecito were released from an Italian prison, on appeal, after previously being convicted of participating in the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007. Based on the Galati-Costigliola Report (112-page final appeal document), the prosecution’s appeal attacks the approach of the appeals court and their handling of trial from both a procedural and a reasoning standpoint. 

13-Month-Old Shot in Head by Teen

Not sure yet that society is eroding right before our eyes; or that guns kill people at a much faster rate than they protect them? For every story that the NRA can provide that actually helped save a “helpless” single woman; I can provide 20 that take innocent life in cold blood. Just when you think you’ve heard the most horrendous crime—Newtown shootings, Sandy Hook shootings—another seems to pop up; each more shocking than the next; and they are occurring more frequently these days.