Tag:

Cold case

Forensic Facial Reconstruction Offers Hope In Solving 1973 Jane Doe Murder Mystery In Virginia Forensic Facial Reconstruction Offers Hope In Solving 1973 Jane Doe Murder Mystery In Virginia
Forensic Facial Reconstruction Offers Hope In Solving 1973 Jane Doe Murder Mystery In Virginia For over 50 years, the identity of a young woman found murdered in Loudoun County has remained a mystery, but a newly unveiled clay facial reconstruction could be the key to finally solving the case, officials say. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Cold Case Unit, in collaboration with forensic artist and George Mason University professor Joe Mullins, has created a lifelike bust of the victim, known only as Jane Doe.  Using a 3D-printed model of her skeletal remains, Mullins sculpted a depiction of the woman, believed to be a Black female in her late 20s to early 30s, in hopes…
Former Soldier Out For Blood Admits To 1994 Murder Of Young Mother In Fairfax County Former Soldier Out For Blood Admits To 1994 Murder Of Young Mother In Fairfax County
Former Soldier Out For Blood Admits To 1994 Murder Of Young Mother In Fairfax County Three decades after a young mother was found brutally murdered in Fairfax County, a former Army soldier stationed in Arlington admitted to the crime. Stephan Smerk, 52, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of Robin Lawrence in November 1994, prosecutors announced on Friday afternoon. “Our cold case detectives exhibit unparalleled dedication when it comes to closing a case with many unknowns,” Fairfax County Chief of Police Kevin Davis previously said.  “This case is but one example of how our department’s police work goes above and beyond, and it exemplifies ou…
Man Gets Life In Prison For 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Decades Later Man Gets Life In Prison For 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Decades Later
Man Gets Life In Prison For 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Decades Later Justice has been served for a Maryland family more than four decades after Vickie Lynn Belk was abducted and murdered in Maryland. Last year, the Charles County Sheriff's Office announced that District resident Andre Taylor, now 63, was arrested on charges that included rape and murder in connection to Belk's death, who was found on Metropolitan Church Road near Route 227 after she was killed 45 years ago.  Vickie Lynn BelkCharles County Sheriff He was convicted in July by a jury after just two hours of deliberation following a nine-day trial. "This case occurred more tha…
Man Accused Of 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Convicted Man Accused Of 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Convicted
Man Accused Of 1979 Rape, Murder Of Maryland Mother Convicted Justice has been served for a Maryland family more than four decades after Vickie Lynn Belk was abducted and murdered in Maryland. Last year, the Charles County Sheriff's Office announced that District resident Andre Taylor was arrested on charges that included rape and murder in connection to Belk's death, who was found in Bryans Road on Metropolitan Church Road after she was killed 45 years ago.  Vickie Lynn BelkCharles County Sheriff On Friday, July 19, the state's attorney's office announced that Taylor was convicted by a jury after just two hours of deliberation following …
DNA Evidence Helps Police Close 23-Year-Old Murder Mystery In Maryland DNA Evidence Helps Police Close 23-Year-Old Murder Mystery In Maryland
DNA Evidence Helps Police Close 23-Year-Old Murder Mystery In Maryland More than two decades after Leslie Preer was found murdered inside her home after failing to show up for work, police in Montgomery County say they have arrested a man in connection to the 2001 cold case. DNA evidence has linked Eugene Teodor Gilgor as a possible suspect in the murder, police say, and on Tuesday, he was arrested by the US Marshals Task Force in Washington, DC.  Early in the morning on May 2, 2001, officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police were called to the 4800 block of Drummond Avenue in Chevy Chase, where they found Preer's body, and her death was lat…
Body Found In Maryland Field In 1998 Identified: Now It's Time To Find Her Killer, Sheriff Says Body Found In Maryland Field In 1998 Identified: Now It's Time To Find Her Killer, Sheriff Says
Body Found In Maryland Field In 1998 Identified: Now It's Time To Find Her Killer, Sheriff Says For 25 years, the body of LaQuanda Denise "Niecey" Williams was called Jane Doe. That changed last October, a few months after NBC aired a segment about the 1998 Charles County cold case, and a family member called police that very night. On Friday, March 22, the Charles County Sheriff's Office announced that death of 31-year-old Niecey Williams has been ruled a homicide. But her story isn't over yet. “Learning the identity of Jane Doe after 25 years is a testament to the relentless dedication of our investigators," Sheriff Troy D. Berry said. "Today, we take a significant step forward in…
Cold Case Murder Suspect Back In Virginia Cold Case Murder Suspect Back In Virginia
Cold Case Murder Suspect Back In Virginia A 51-year-old New York man suspect in a 1994 murder case is back in Virginia. Stephen Smerk, of Niskayuna, NY, was extradited to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday, Sept. 26.  He is facing second-degree murder in the Nov. 20, 1994 death of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was found dead in a Springfield, VA home, Fairfax County police said. Smerk is believed to have stabbed Lawrence inside of her Reseca Lane home, when he was 22 years old, authorities said. In 1994, a DNA profile was developed; however, at the time there was no match in any system for …
Man Wanted For Sexual Assaults In Maryland, DC Charged After Nine Years: DOJ Man Wanted For Sexual Assaults In Maryland, DC Charged After Nine Years: DOJ
Man Wanted For Sexual Assaults In Maryland, DC Charged After Nine Years: DOJ A man with a checkered criminal past has been charged with sexual assault in Washington, DC and Maryland, federal authorities announced. District resident Dawayne Joseph Spriggs, 37, who also calls Prince George's County home in Maryland, was arraigned on a 2014 cold case involving a sexual assault involving a stranger at a DC Metro station in 2014. According to court documents, on July 6, 2014, Spriggs approached a stranger near the Minnesota Avenue Metro station at approximately 1 a.m., following her before physically and sexually assaulting her in an alley. Once the assault was over, th…
Cold Case: Convict Charged In Connection To Sexual Assault At DC Metro 10 Years Ago: DOJ Cold Case: Convict Charged In Connection To Sexual Assault At DC Metro 10 Years Ago: DOJ
Cold Case: Convict Charged In Connection To Sexual Assault At DC Metro 10 Years Ago: DOJ Justice may have been served 10 years after a Maryland man sexually assaulted a woman at a DC Metro Station. Samuel Sampson Peaks, 35, was arraigned this week stemming from a 2013 cold case involved the armed sexual assault of a stranger at the Minnesota Avenue Metro station, the US attorney’s announced. According to court documents, in February 2013, Peaks encountered his victim at the station and followed her before brandishing a handgun and forcing her to perform a sexual act. Once the assault was over, she called the police, who responded and recovered DNA evidence that was tested in 2…
COLD CASE: NY Man Confesses To Grisly 1994 Virginia Murder, Police Say COLD CASE: NY Man Confesses To Grisly 1994 Virginia Murder, Police Say
Cold CASE: NY Man Confesses To Grisly 1994 Virginia Murder, Police Say A 51-year-old New York man has been arrested in a Virginia homicide, cracking a 29-year cold case, authorities announced. Stephen Smerk, of Niskayuna, NY, is facing second-degree murder in the Nov. 20, 1994 death of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was found dead in a Springfield, VA home, Fairfax County police said. Smerk is believed to have stabbed Lawrence inside of her Reseca Lane home, when he was 22 years old, authorities said. In 1994, a DNA profile was developed; however, at the time there was no match in any system for the recovered DNA. In the years that followed, detec…
Dad Shook Infant Son To Death, Officials In Virginia Find 39 Years Later Dad Shook Infant Son To Death, Officials In Virginia Find 39 Years Later
Dad Shook Infant Son To Death, Officials In Virginia Find 39 Years Later William Faulkner famously once said “the past is never dead. It’s not even past,” and that proved to be true in Prince William County, where police solved a 37-year cold case involving an infant this week. Samuel Harry Dicola, 58, who has no fixed address, has been charged with murder i connection to the death of his infant son in their former family home in the 9600 block of Lafayette Avenue in Manassas in 1984. Then, the initial investigation determined that on Nov. 29, 1984, the victim, a 3-month-old boy, was in the care of Dicola, who was 20 at the time, at their Manassas home when, at …
New Technology Helps Police In Virginia Close 34-Year-Old Sexual Assault Cold Case New Technology Helps Police In Virginia Close 34-Year-Old Sexual Assault Cold Case
New Technology Helps Police In Virginia Close 34-Year-Old Sexual Assault Cold Case New technology helped authorities solve a 34-year-old sexual assault cold case in Virginia. George Thomas Jr., 61, of Arlington, was arrested Monday, Nov. 21 for his role in the rape, sodomy, and abduction of a 22-year-old woman on Aug. 24, 1988, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Police said that fingerprints prints taken from the victim's vehicle at the time were recently confirmed to be a match to Thomas Jr. and his late brother, Gregory Allen Thomas, of Arlington.  A department fingerprint examiner linked the second set of fingerprints to new and unrelated arr…
Fairfax County Police To Announce Arrest In Decades-Old Rape Case Fairfax County Police To Announce Arrest In Decades-Old Rape Case
Fairfax County Police To Announce Arrest In Decades-Old Rape Case Fairfax County police are expected to announce the arrest of a man in connection with a rape case from 1988. UPDATE: New Technology Helps Police In Arlington Close 34-Year-Old Sexual Assault Cold Case A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Public Safety Headquarters on Government Center Parkway. It will also be streamed on the department's Facebook page.  This story is developing. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Suspect In Custody For 30-Year Cold Case Murder Of Virginia Teen Found In Maryland Suspect In Custody For 30-Year Cold Case Murder Of Virginia Teen Found In Maryland
Suspect In Custody For 30-Year Cold Case Murder Of Virginia Teen Found In Maryland Thirty years after a Virginia teen was brutally murdered in Maryland, police have identified and arrested a suspect in the cold case. Ron Wright, 47, of Wimauma, Florida, has been charged by Metropolitan Police investigators in DC for the 1992 murder of Falls Church, Virginia resident Ricardo Burbano, authorities announced on Thursday, Oct. 20. On Tuesday, March 31, 1992, officers from the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland found Burbano unconscious in the back of a building in Hyattsville, where he was pronounced dead. The teen’s remains were transported to the Office o…
Maryland Cop Killer Confesses To 51-Year-Old Cold Case Maryland Cop Killer Confesses To 51-Year-Old Cold Case
Maryland Cop Killer Confesses To 51-Year-Old Cold Case A case that has been cold for over half a century has been solved after a killer admitted to the murder of a Maryland officer, authorities say. Authorities have arrested 71-year-old Larry David Smith, also known as Larry David Becker, after he admitted his involvement in the murder of Montgomery County Special Deputy Sheriff Capt. James Tappen Hall in 1971, according to Montgomery County police. Hall was found critically injured on the night of Saturday, Oct. 23, 1971, after a witness reported seeing a man lying face down in the southeast parking lot of the Manor Country Club in the 14…
Fairfax County Detectives Have Solved 'Christmas Tree Lady' Case 25 Years Later Fairfax County Detectives Have Solved 'Christmas Tree Lady' Case 25 Years Later
Fairfax County Detectives Have Solved 'Christmas Tree Lady' Case 25 Years Later For 25 years, Fairfax County police have not given up on solving one of the department's more perplexing cases. Now they have an answer.  The Fairfax County Police Department announced on Thursday, July 7, that cold case detectives identified the woman who they have been calling "The Christmas Tree Lady" since they found her body on Dec. 18, 1996.  Her name is Joyce Meyer. She was 69 years old when she died.  Police found Meyer's body at the Pleasant Valley Memorial Park on Little River Turnpike in Annandale a week before Christmas. She had two things in her pocket: a suicid…