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Forensic Science

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Gilgo Beach Murders: New Type Of DNA Evidence Permitted In Rex Heuermann Trial Gilgo Beach Murders: New Type Of DNA Evidence Permitted In Rex Heuermann Trial
Gilgo Beach Murders: New Type Of DNA Evidence Permitted In Rex Heuermann Trial A new form of DNA evidence can be used in the upcoming trial of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, a Long Island judge ruled. The decision, filed Wednesday, Sept. 3, in Suffolk County Supreme Court, permits prosecutors to introduce nuclear DNA profiles generated from rootless hairs recovered at several crime scenes. Justice Timothy Mazzei found that the method, which relies on whole genome sequencing and specialized computer software to extract nuclear DNA from even degraded or rootless hairs, is generally accepted in the scientific community and therefore admissible in court.…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Sheriff Who Inspired Walking Tall Movies Implicated In Wife’s 1967 Murder Sheriff Who Inspired Walking Tall Movies Implicated In Wife’s 1967 Murder
Sheriff Who Inspired Walking Tall Movies Implicated In Wife’s 1967 Murder Once hailed as a crime-fighting folk hero, and before that, a hulking pro wrestler, Buford Pusser is now at the center of a stunning allegation: investigators say he likely killed his wife in 1967 and staged the scene. Authorities in Tennessee announced on Friday, Aug. 29 at a news conference that fresh evidence points to Pusser, a former county sheriff whose life inspired the iconic movie Walking Tall and its sequels, as the likely culprit in the death of his 35-year-old wife, Pauline Mullins Pusser. Officials said that, were he alive, there would be probable cause to charge him. Investig…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Baby’s Skull In Noose Found At Mütter Museum Tied To Woman’s Shocking Murders Of 5 Infants Baby’s Skull In Noose Found At Mütter Museum Tied To Woman’s Shocking Murders Of 5 Infants
Baby’s Skull In Noose Found At Mütter Museum Tied To Woman’s Shocking Murders Of 5 Infants A baby skull still bearing a noose was discovered at a Philadelphia museum — and it's been linked to a 45-year-old murder case in Gallitzin, Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees announced during a Monday, July 7 news conference. The remains, found at the Mütter Museum, belonged to one of five babies hidden in an attic trunk at the home of Stella Elizabeth Williamson, a Gallitzin woman who died in 1980. After her death, authorities were led to the attic, where they found the bodies of four newborns and one infant, wrapped in newspapers from the 1920s and ’30s. The case made national headlines at…

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by Jillian Pikora
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DNA Confirms Body Of Woman Who Disappeared 14 Years Ago Was Pulled From NJ River: Officials DNA Confirms Body Of Woman Who Disappeared 14 Years Ago Was Pulled From NJ River: Officials
DNA Confirms Body Of Woman Who Disappeared 14 Years Ago Was Pulled From NJ River: Officials Fourteen years after she was last seen, the body of a Camden woman reported missing in 2010 has been identified, authorities said. DNA results confirmed the remains pulled from a submerged car in the Cooper River in Pennsauken last year were those of Bernadine Gunner, Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said Tuesday, April 29. Camden County Prosecutor's Office (inset)/Bernadine Waters Gunner Facebook photo Gunner, 52, was last seen on July 11, 2010, driving her 2006 blue Hyundai Elantra after threatening to take her own life, police said. On May 16, 2024, human remains were found …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
College Student Claiming To Kill 20 Women Threatened To ‘Dismember’ PA Neighbor: Police College Student Claiming To Kill 20 Women Threatened To ‘Dismember’ PA Neighbor: Police
College Student Claiming To Kill 20 Women Threatened To ‘Dismember’ PA Neighbor: Police A West Virginia college student who claimed to be a serial killer allegedly stalked his Pennsylvania neighbor and threatened to dismember her, authorities announced on Saturday, March 15. Dylan Bish, 19, was arrested on Wednesday, March 13, after a months-long investigation into disturbing threats made against a woman in the 3300 block of 3rd Avenue in Koppel, Beaver County police said. The terror began in November 2024 when the woman found a handwritten note on her apartment door with her name and a phone number. She reported it to police, who attempted to contact the sender via text but c…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
NJ Pastor Not Guilty Of 8-Year-Old Gretchen Harrington's Homicide In PA NJ Pastor Not Guilty Of 8-Year-Old Gretchen Harrington's Homicide In PA
NJ Pastor Not Guilty Of 8-Year-Old Gretchen Harrington's Homicide In PA Nearly 50 years after 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington was abducted and killed in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, David Zandstra, a former pastor accused of her murder, has been found not guilty. Court records updated on Saturday, Jan. 18, show Zandstra was acquitted of all charges following a trial on Friday, Jan. 17. The charges included Criminal Homicide, First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Murder, and Third-Degree Murder. Additional charges, including Possession of an Instrument of Crime, were dismissed or withdrawn. David Zandstra, 83, originally from New Jersey and most recently of M…

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by Jillian Pikora