Aug. 13, 2012

Skulls on the beach of Punuk Island Alaska

by Liz Porter

The science

Many experts start their forensic science timeline in 1810, when a German scientist did a chemical test for a particular ink dye on a document. Three years later, Spaniard Mathieu Orfila published his Toxicologie Générale, as a result of which he is usually regarded as the father of modern toxicology.

In 1835, Londoner Henry Goddard, a member of the Bow Street Runners, the unofficial police force set up by the writer and magistrate Henry Fielding, initiated the use of bullet comparison when investigating a burglary. He spotted a flaw in a bullet lodged in a bed’s backboard, matching it both to other bullets in the suspect’s gun and to the mould from which the bullets had been made. This enabled him to solve the crime. The butler did it, then invented a story about a masked intruder to cover up his own “inside job.”

In the following year, English chemist James Marsh, inventor of a method to measure small amounts of arsenic ingested or absorbed by a human body, used the technique in the trial of a man accused of poisoning his grandfather. But the jury, confused by the complexity of Marsh’s testimony, acquitted the man. As a result, the scientist improved and simplified his method into a technique that was easier to explain to lay people, devising a test for arsenic in dead bodies which became known as the Marsh Test.

In 1850, French physician Marcel Bergeret was able to exonerate a couple accused of killing a baby whose mummified remains had been unearthed while they were renovating their apartment. Workmen removing brickwork behind the mantelpiece had discovered the remains. Bergeret carried out an autopsy on the body, finding some moths and larvae from a flesh fly on it. Using his knowledge of the succession of insects that visit dead bodies, he calculated that the moths had grown from eggs laid in 1849, meaning that the flies must have laid their eggs on the newly dead body in 1848, when it was walled in, before the current occupants had moved into the apartment. Suspicion was then directed at previous occupants, specifically a young woman who had appeared at one point to be pregnant but had never been seen with a baby. She was arrested and tried for murder but was acquitted because the cause of her baby’s death could not be established.

Aug 13, 2012

The statue of Lady Justice at Dublin Castle

Justice on Trial is a landmark study of prosecutorial misconduct conducted by the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University School of Law and released in October of 2010.

In 2007, a California Court of Appeal set aside the murder conviction of Mark Sodersten because a Tulare County deputy district attorney had improperly withheld from the defense audiotapes of his interviews with a key witness.

The Appeals court personally listened to the tapes and concluded they contained dramatic evidence pointing to Sodersten’s innocence. Based on this finding, the court vacated his conviction. “This case,” the court declared, “raises the one issue that is the most feared aspect of our system—that an innocent man might be convicted.”

For Sodersten, however, the ruling came too late. He had died in prison six months earlier, after spending 22 years behind bars. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, but the jury sentenced him to life without parole.

The ruling was one of 707 cases of prosecutorial misconduct uncovered in a year-long investigation by the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara University School of Law.

The investigation, made public October 4, 2010  is the most in-depth statewide review of prosecutorial misconduct in the United States.

Aug. 6, 2012

Charles Ponzi

Charles Ponzi, a poor immigrant from Lugo, Italy, pulled off an amazing investment scam in 1920 that defrauded U.S. investors of $20 million ($240 million in today’s money).  In the process, he perfected the infamous “Ponzi Scheme” that was taken to new heights by the likes of Bernie Madoff, Tom Petters and Allen Stanford. 

by Mark Pulham

Recently, on its website, Time Magazine listed its Top Ten Swindlers. They ranged from William Miller in 1899, to the recently convicted Allen Stanford in 2012. All 10 had something in common, apart from being crooks. They decided to steal their money by using a Ponzi scheme.

The Ponzi scheme has now become so common that, seemingly, hardly a month goes by without hearing an incident of another one. The financial pages are always reporting them, and those who run them become criminal superstars.

And we are not talking about amounts that run into the hundreds or thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. These are schemes that bring in millions, and sometimes, in the case of three on the list, billions. Tom Petters took in $3.65 billion; Allen Stanford $7 billion; and the man whose name is now synonymous with fiscal immorality, Bernie Madoff, between $50-$65 billion.

Surprisingly, there are still some people who don’t know what a Ponzi scheme is, or how it works.

A Ponzi scheme is amazingly simple to run. Except for some minor details, it is similar to a pyramid scheme.

It begins when a con man finds someone to invest with him. He will likely talk about financial matters, throwing around buzzwords such as hedge funds and high yield returns, and will present himself as someone very knowledgeable in financial matters and investment strategy. He may even hint that he has insiders giving him tips.

One thing he will do is guarantee that you, the investor, will make a larger than average profit on this investment within a short space of time.

The investor does not have to do anything other than sit back and wait for the money to start rolling in.

It sounds like a great deal. Almost too good to be true, which should be everyone’s first warning.

July 23, 2012

While conspiracy theories abound, the murders of two of rap’s biggest stars go unsolved.

by Cathy Scott

Just before 3 p.m. on a spring afternoon in May 1998, a car drove up to a crowded car wash on a street corner in Compton, California. An argument broke out between two groups of men and, a minute later, the sound of gunfire erupted. When the smoke cleared, four men were sprawled out, bleeding on the ground. Two were already dead. And a third died early the next morning.

This a nation long hardened to the idea of black-on-black crime. Although a shooting in a white suburban school is cause for a national outcry, a gun battle in a black ghetto barely raises an eyebrow – at least from authorities.

The slaughter at the car wash would have been quickly forgotten but for the notoriety of one of the dead – 23-year-old Orlando “Little Lando” Anderson. A member of a Los Angeles gang known as the Southside Crips, Anderson was the man widely suspected in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

The killing of Anderson was the latest in a string of murders in the 1990s that blighted the reputation of rap culture and the image of young African-American men. Among the most famous victims were two of the biggest names in rap music: Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

July 16, 2012

Dennis Rader

Over a 17-year span that ended in 1991, Dennis Rader, who dubbed himself “BTK,” murdered 10 people. Fourteen years later, in an attempt for lasting notoriety, the psychopath who became the president of his Lutheran congregation, led Wichita police to his front door.

by Denise Noe

For years on end, Wichita, Kansas and its surrounding environs were terrorized by a most peculiar serial murderer. Part of what made him so “peculiar” was that people who knew him in everyday life found him utterly normal. In contrast to the stereotype of the serial murderer as a lonely bachelor, Dennis Rader, who would become infamous as “BTK,” was a pillar of the community. His wife and two children loved him, he was able to rise to the top rung of his Lutheran congregation’s administration, he was active as a Scout leader, and he was able to keep his last job as a glorified dog catcher for 15 years. He literally was the serial killer next door.

On the other hand, he was totally without compassion or empathy for any of his victims, not even small children victims. He was a remorseless serial killer who aspired in his later years to treat his killings as if they were a motion picture and live in infamy after his death, his family be damned. 

His background offers frustratingly few clues to what led to the warping of his personality – but warped it most assuredly was. Although he did not want the homicidal desires that obsessed him, enacting them did not leave him tormented.  He could torment and murder, then return home or attend church with not the slightest sign of guilt or distress. What remains mysterious is how such extreme abnormality co-existed with a façade of perfect normalcy.

June 27, 2012

David Berkowitz

David Berkowitz, “the Son of Sam,” terrorized New Yorkers during a 13-month long killing spree in 1976-1977 before a parking ticket at his last crime scene led to his capture.  Now a born-again Christian, he calls himself “the Son of Hope.”

by Mark Pulham

The year was 1976, and the United States was celebrating its Bicentennial, especially in the month of July. It was also the year of the summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, and 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci stole the show by becoming the first person in modern Olympic history to achieve a perfect 10.00.

Music was important, and the disco was the place to be. On the week of July 24, the top song on the Billboard Charts was “Kiss And Say Goodbye” by the Manhattans, who had knocked off the previous weeks “Afternoon Delight” from the number one spot.

The Manhattans would stay at number one for the following week, only to be knocked off by Elton John and Kiki Dee singing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” That same week, Tavares would release “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel.”

But, by the end of that week, Heaven would be getting an Angel back, and more than one heart was going to be broken.

The First Victims

Jody Valenti

It was around 1a.m. on Thursday, July 29. It was a warm night, and Jody Valenti had parked her blue Oldsmobile Cutlass on Buhre Avenue in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx. Her friend, Donna Lauria, lived in an apartment at 2860 Buhre Avenue with her parents. Jody was 19 years old, a student nurse, and Donna, just one year younger, was a medical student.

As Jody and Donna sat in the car, Donna’s parents, Mike and Rose Lauria, were returning home and saw the girls. It was getting late, so Mike told Donna that she should be getting inside. Donna said that she would be up soon. Mike and Rose went upstairs to the apartment, but Mike would be back down in a few minutes to walk the dog.

A few minutes before that a Ford Galaxie had cruised past. The driver of the Galaxie drove a couple of blocks away and parked, then made his way back on foot, keeping to the shadows.

It had been a fun night for the girls. They had spent the evening at the Peachtree Disco in New Rochelle. Now, they chatted together, reliving the night and talking about boys. As they talked, the man circled and came closer to their car, like an animal creeping closer to its prey.

Donna decided it was time to go upstairs and opened the door to get out. As she did, she spotted the man standing at the curb just several feet away from them. He was staring at her. Donna sat back and closed the car door a little, and said, “Who is this guy? What does he want?”

The man was carrying a brown paper bag, and as she watched, he reached in. When his hand came out, he was holding a Charter Arms.44 caliber Bulldog, a snub nosed five-shot revolver.

He dropped to a shooters crouch and aimed the gun using both hands, his elbow resting on his knee to steady his aim. Quickly, he squeezed off five shots, emptying the gun.

The bullets smashed through the windshield.

June 18, 2012

Clay Laverne Shaw

Clay Shaw's acquittal on conspiracy charges to assassinate President John F. Kennedy owes a great deal to his willingness to perjure himself at that 1969 trial. 

by Don Fulsom

Clay Shaw (a.k.a. Clay Bertrand) holds the distinction of being the only individual ever tried as part of an alleged conspiracy to murder President John F. Kennedy.  In 1969, after a 39-day trial, a New Orleans jury took less than an hour to find the wealthy local businessman not guilty.

Then 55, the tall, white-haired, distinguished looking Shaw was indicted and tried by a rather flamboyant ex-FBI agent—the parish’s controversial district attorney, Jim Garrison.  The D.A. and his staff produced enough evidence to convince the jury there was a conspiracy—but the jurors said Shaw did not participate in it. Could the jury have been mistaken on Shaw?  Looking at the case through history’s rear-view mirror, yes indeed.