CyberSleuths - The Reality of Crime

KELLY BLAKE trial
Phoenix, Arizona
Twice burned at the stake--(Arizona Republic) Authorities have overwhelming evidence that Blake cruelly slaughtered two of her own children and tried to kill a third, and for that, prosecutors would love to lead her around in irons. But, they can't.

SLA: Simbionese Liberation Army
Los Angeles, California
Closing in on 70's militants--(SF Gate) Two fugitives from 25-year-old case are reported to be living normal lives.

DONNA MORROW disappearance
Menlo Park, California
Desperate search renewed 8 years later--(Fresno Bee) A bizarre murder mystery with no body and a missing suspect has been renewed by dogged police investigators who won't give up on the 8-year-old case.

Missing: KENNY KRAMER, 3
Brownsville, Minn.
$10,000 reward offered for missing boy - (LaCrosse Trib)
Kenny has been missing since early Monday when he was apparently taken from his bed at his grandparents' trailer home in Brownsville.
Reward offered for missing boy - (KTTC/MSNBC)
People are urged to check their summer cabins, sheds or boat houses in the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa area.

SUND/PELOSSO case
California
Truth is out there; finding it is tough--(Modesto Bee) At the center of this grisly whodunit, sources close to the investigation insist, is a loose-knit group of parolees with a penchant for violence, sexual abuse and methamphetamine.

ROSEMARY WEST serving 10 life sentences
England
West warden sues over 'breakdown'--(BBC) A prison warden who guarded mass murderer Rose West is suing the Home Office after allegedly suffering a nervous breakdown.

DUPAGE 7 Trial
Who really killed Jeanine Nicarico?
Chicago
Case against DuPage 7 starts to shrivel up (Chicago Trib)
Did Rolando Cruz, on May 9, 1983, tell DuPage Sheriff's Detectives Thomas Vosburgh and Dennis Kurzawa that he had dreamed of the slaying of 10-yr-old Jeanine Nicarico and spilled details only the killer would know?
Judge sees holes in paper trail (Chicago Sun-Times)

CRIMES FROM THE PAST

Los Angeles - Oct. 24, 1871
A Forgotten Hero From a Night of Disgrace (LA Times)
The year was 1871, and historians recall the incident, if at all, as simply the "Chinese Massacre," an event that left 19 Asian immigrants dead and led contemporary newspapers to label the city a "bloodstained Eden." The only redeeming aspect of the whole squalid affair was the bravery of a young fireman-turned-police patrolman, who would go on to become Los Angeles' only Jewish police chief.

Melbourne, Florida - Dec. 9, 1955
Justice Story: The Curious Confession (NY Daily News)
It was early morning when Philip Van Eeghen, operator of Van's Laundry in Melbourne, Fla., reported that his wife and 7-yr-old child were missing.

MICHAEL ROSS convicted serial killer
New London, Conn.
Newspapers challenge media ban in Ross trial - (MSNBC/WVIT)
Two newspapers are challenging a judge’s decision that would bar the media from attending the re-trial of serial killer Michael Ross. Ross faces the death penalty for the murder of six girls and young women in the early 1980’s.

23 MISSING WOMEN
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Families and police baffled by disappearance of 23 Canadian hookers--(Nando Times) Police, drug addicts, prostitutes, social workers and the local mayor gathered this week in an unusual act of solidarity to pray for nearly two dozen hookers who have vanished under mysterious circumstances from Vancouver's red light district during the past four years.

KENNY KRAMER, 3 abducted
Brownsville, Minn.
Harold Kramer pleads for the return of Kenny--(KTTC/MSNBC) It's been five days since Kenny Kramer was abducted, and Houston County authorities have few leads and no primary suspects.
Three-year-old taken from grandparents' home--(Post-Bulletin) The person who apparently abducted a 3-year-old boy from his grandparents' home near here earlier this week probably was familiar with the home.
Searches turn up no sign of missing boy--(Star-Tribune) A strange note was left on the boy's bed when he was taken, and another left a few weeks ago on the grandparents' property.
Grandfather pleads for return of his grandson, authorities tight-lipped--(Star Tribune) No ransom demand has been made.

Virginia
For Virginia's Must-See Web Site, the Jury Is Still Out (Wash Post)
State's List of Convicted Sex Offenders Popular but Unproven
He slips into a fast-food booth in Fairfax County and settles swiftly on salad and a slice, because his lunch hour is just that. Haunted in the eyes and a bit shy, he seems less sinister than his image in cyberspace, where Virginia's new gallery of sex offenders marquees his name and address. "I'm a child molester," he says.

So, You Can't Get Enough Cop Chases (LA Times) PursuitWatch Network, the Southland firm that beeps customers when a live cop chase is on television, is pursuing business elsewhere in the country.

Talk show host has explaining to do (Chicago Trib) Will Ald. Edward Burke (14th), enraged and red-faced, grab a fistful of Jerry Springer's hair? Will Springer try to heft one of those big leather chairs in the City Council chamber and toss it at the Southwest Side alderman? Will the crowd go nuts? And will the cops wade in to make arrests? Stay tuned, because it's official: The big show is set for high noon on June 4.

Video use may bring lawsuit (SP Times)
It was a notable gap in two highly-promoted stories WFLA-Ch. 8 aired last week on the Sheila Bellush murder case.

Tacoma, Wash.
Pastor Hamlin's victory clarifies law (Tacoma Trib)
Tacoma minister was willing to go to jail rather than testify in court about what he believed was a confession given him by a murder suspect.

Florida
Gov. Bush signs Kayla bill into law (Tampa Trib)
Six months after 6-year-old Kayla McKean was beaten to death, Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law legislation that will plug holes in the state's child abuse investigation system.

JONBENET RAMSEY Case
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder's municipal spokeswoman retiring (Boulder News)
Of the flocks of media types that descended on Boulder after the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, those employed by the sensation-seeking national tabloids were the easiest to handle. At least according to the city's director of communications, Leslie Aaholm.
Ramsey Parents Could Face Prison If They Engaged in a Coverup (Fox News)

DUPAGE 7 Trial
Who really killed 10-yr-old Jeannine Nicarico?
Naperville, Ill.
Judge clears 2 DuPage 7 defendants (Chicago Trib)
Trial resumes next week for five.
DuPage 7 cut by two (Chicago Sun-Times)
A judge late Thursday acquitted two of the seven DuPage County lawmen accused of railroading Rolando Cruz onto Death Row--a stunning decision that mirrors the way Cruz was acquitted of murder charges in 1995.

RYAN HARRIS, 11
FLOYD DURR charged
Chicago, Ill.
Not-Guilty Plea Filed In Ryan Harris' Death (Chicago Trib)
A 7-year-old and an 8-year-old boy were charged in the murder after allegedly confessing to police, but results of DNA testing of semen found on Ryan's underpants later exonerated the boys and implicated Durr.

JIMMY, JANNIS and ELMER GARDNER - found dead in a bomb shelter
KEITH GARDNER - "person of interest"
Lorton, Virginia
Victims Stabbed, Placed In Home's Bomb Shelter (Wash Post)
Va. Slayings Took Place Inside Home (Wash Post) Police Find Knives And Other Evidence

ONLY IN L.A.
Was Real-Life Hamburglar Grilled by the Police? (LA Times)
Stupid-criminal-trick honors go to the guy who was found with a shopping cart near a burglarized hamburger stand in South-Central Los Angeles. Police couldn't help but notice that the cart contained a cash drawer. And that the suspect was carrying money in one hand and a cold hamburger in the other. A hamburger to go, obviously.

CRIME NEWS AROUND THE NET
Pa. woman accused of murder-for-hire that came undone (Boston Globe) Could she get her husband back if she killed his cyberlover?
Man Held in Rapper Big L's Slay (NY Daily) Harlem man had grudge against rapper Big L's brother.
School accuses girls of witchery (Denver Post) Eight sixth-graders suspected of "casting spells'' on classmates.
Woman allows daughter to be molested (AJC) Woman gets 12 years for offering 3-year-old daughter for sex.

SANDRA JO PITTMAN murder
DEAN RAY TUMEY, charged
Tipton, Iowa
Man charged in 1980 murder long central suspect in case--(Gazette Online) Suspect has history of mental illness, living on disability.

TANYA DENISE DAVIS, mother
CHASMINE AVERY (4), LEONARD AVERY (7), CHESLEY PATTERSON (5)
Nashville, Tennessee
Woman kills three children, self--(The Tennessean) A north Nashville woman who had been suffering from mental problems shot her three small children to death and then killed herself Wednesday, police said last night after discovering the bodies nearly 24 hours later.

BOOBIE BOYS gang
Miami, Florida
Boobie Boys gang caused murder, mayhem in Miami--(Reuters) In a federal indictment unsealed Friday, 15 members of the Boobie Boys were charged in a drug conspiracy that spurred vicious battles for eight years beginning in 1990.

HENRY and EDITH VILA murders
CHARLES JACKSON, serving life in Folsom prison
Albany, California
DNA links imprisoned killer to 1981 murder--(Modesto Bee) Scientists are doing more DNA testing on evidence from a string of other deaths that might implicate Jackson.

New Braunfels, Texas
'Sick puppy' inmate gets 99 more years - (Express News) A jury Thursday convicted a prison inmate of indecency with a child, even though he was behind bars more than 100 miles away from where the molestation took place.

Phoenix, Arizona
Police hunt for "very ugly woman"--(Reuters) Police say they're hunting a "very ugly woman" suspected of a string of bank robberies in Arizona and justify using the description by saying it's the best they have.

Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Prostitutes get cell phones for safety--(Reuters) Amid fears that a serial killer is preying on Vancouver's prostitutes, the Canadian province of British Columbia agreed Thursday to provide cell phones to women plying the sex trade in a depressed city neighborhood.

ASHLEY TAGGERT abduction
JASON EARL WAGNER charged
DANNY TAYLOR arraigned
Lancaster, Ohio
Wagner's roommate arrested on five charges--(Columbus Dispatch) Taylor said he and Wagner were lovers, but that he was unaware of Wagner's criminal past.
Wagner's roommate arraigned--(Columbus Dispatch) Five days after Jason Earl Wagner was indicted in the abduction of 3-year-old Ashley Taggart, his roommate was arraigned on charges of endangering another child who once lived with the pair.

DAVID PARKER RAY
GLENDA JEAN "Jesse" RAY
Elephant Butte, New Mexico
Jesse Ray told FBI of slavery--(ABQ Journaal) Agent: She alleged in '86 Dad tortured, sold women.
FBI profilers say Ray fits sexual sadist--(ABQ Tribune) The main defendant in a sex-torture case fits the profile of a sexual sadist who hoards "keepsakes" taken from victims -- anything from jewelry to body parts, court documents say.
Mexico link is alleged in torture case--(Arizona Star) Allegations of women sold in Mexico.

LISA McPHERSON death
CHURCH of SCIENTOLOGY charged
Clearwater, Florida
Prosecutor defends Scientology charges (SP Times)
Circumstances in the death of church member Lisa McPherson are described in court as disturbing and bizarre.
Judge: Scientology case not about beliefs (Tampa Trib)
Scientologists seek dismissal of death case (Tampa Trib)

JONBENET RAMSEY Case
Boulder, Colorado
Ramsey's attorneys deny plea story (Boulder News)
Attorneys representing JonBenet Ramsey's parents made a rare public statement Thursday denying tabloid reports they are negotiating a settlement to end the ongoing murder investigation.
Jonbenet's Folks Face Prison If They Covered Up For Son (NY Post)

SHEILA BELLUSH murdered mom of quads
Sarasota, Florida
San Antonio, Texas
Grand jury reopens Bellush slaying case -- (San Antonio Express)
Murder for Hire? -- (CBS 48 Hours)
A year and a half ago, Sheila Bellush, a pretty mother of six, was brutally murdered in her home in Sarasota, Florida. Police soon arrested three men. But was her ex-husband, a millionaire businessman, behind the crime?
Special Reports: Bellush Murder -- (San Antonio Express) Case story archives

ROGER MARTINEZ arrested
ERIC ANDERSON and CHRISTIAN MALDONADO murders
San Antonio, Texas
'Devil's Den' suspect arrested--(San Antonio Express) Bastrop County man jailed in '96 slayings of two Holmes students.