investigation
Whodunnit, and why? All about criminal investigations and the forensic methods used to search for clues and collect evidence to get to the bottom of the crime.
The Impossible Murder of Joseph Bowne Elwell
If you're an avid watcher of The X-Files, Sherlock, or CSI, you have most likely seen the "Locked Room Mystery" trope come into play. It's a common plot scenario where a murder victim is found dead inside a locked room, no visible weapon, and no way for a criminal to escape.
By Skunk Uzeki7 years ago in Criminal
The Boy in the Box
On the morning of February 25, 1957, the body of a young boy between the age of three and seven was found in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia. A young man who was trapping animals found the body, and in fear of having his traps taken away, he didn't tell the police what he saw. A few days later another young man saw a rabbit running under a bush, and decided to investigate because he knew about animal traps. He discovered the body, and he too was going to keep quiet, but decided to tell the police. After being told about the boy's body, the police launched an investigation. 400,000 flyers were put in The Philadelphia Inquire. 270 police recruits combed over the crime scene and found a handkerchief with the letter G on the corner, a child's scar, and a man's blue corduroy hat. The police even took it a step further, and a postmortem photo of the boy fully dressed and sitting in a chair was distributed to the public. The police hoped that this photo would lead to clues about the identity of the boy, but nothing came of it. There are many theories and tips about this case, and even though most of them lead nowhere, there were two that stood out to police. The first theory came from a psychic. The psychic said that the boy was from a foster home that was less than a mile away from where the body was discovered. A man and his stepdaughter ran the foster home. Soon after the stepdaughter became pregnant out of wedlock. Embarrassed by this, the man kept the child a secret which would explain why he was malnourished. The police tried to locate the man and his stepdaughter and finally found them, now married. They were interviewed, but no links between the foster home and the child were found. The second theory came to police in February 2002 by a woman known only as Martha, who told police that her mother had purchased the boy whose name was Jonathan from his biological parents in the summer of 1954. She then told police that the boy was abused by her mother, both physically and sexually, for two and a half years. During one evening the boy vomited up his dinner of baked beans and was severely beaten for it. Her mother then put the boy in the bath where he died. The police had not told the public about finding baked beans in the child's stomach and how the child's fingers were waterlogged. After the boy died, Martha's mother then cut the boys distinctively long hair and made Martha help her dispose of the body. However, before they could dump the boy's body, a good Samaritan stopped and asked the two women if they needed help. Even though Martha's story included evidence that only the police knew, they decided to talk to a neighbor who was friends with both women. The neighbor told police that they had been inside the home and there was no evidence that a little boy had ever lived there. The neighbor also told police that Martha was mentally ill and that her story was ridiculous. A forensic artist by the name of Frank Bender developed a theory that the victim was born a female, and whoever killed her cut off her hair to hide her identity. Bender then released a sketch of what the victim would look like as a female, but still, no one came to claim that they knew the victim. The boy's body was buried in Potter's Cemetery, but later was dug up for DNA evidence. He was later reburied at Ivy Hill Cemetery. His identity and his murder remain unsolved.
By Kai Alexander7 years ago in Criminal
The Truth Behind Lenore Bing Pt. 2
As I said before, names have been changed to protect identities. Enjoy! The more I read into her book the more I realized the stories I heard as a child were true!! Ms. Bing was long gone before I was born but to this very day, grandparents and parents tell their children about “the Bing down the road.” Personally, I wanted to go inside the house for myself and go walk around but as I previously stated, no one is allowed on or near the property.
By Catrina Palko7 years ago in Criminal
The Truth Behind Lenore Bing Pt. 1
I have changed names as to protect those involved... In a small town in Eastern Tennessee there was said to be a lady named Lenore Bing. Ms. Lenore was described to be very, very into witchcraft & dark magick. She started young and passed in her mid sixties. It is also said that Ms. Lenore had four children, none alive today though.
By Catrina Palko7 years ago in Criminal
Tainted Love: The Murder of Laci Peterson
Everyone knows that one couple that looks like a real-life Disney happily ever after. It's that couple never seems to tire of each other, that makes everyone feel a little happy inside, and somehow gives us hope for our own lives.
By Ossiana Tepfenhart7 years ago in Criminal
Missing Father Found Buried in Basement
"He went out for cigarettes." It's a tried-and-true plot device many shows have used to address an absentee father (or in some cases mother). For one family though, it turned out to be a case of art imitating life, sort of. The Carrolls, of Long Island in New York, had always believed that their father had gone out one day and just never returned. After more than 50 years of wanting answers and hearing different stories of what happened, some answers are finally coming their way; their dear old dad was found buried in the basement of the family home.
By Edward Anderson7 years ago in Criminal
The Woman in the Tree
In 1943, a group of young children discovered the skeleton of a young woman inside of a wych elm tree in the small English town of Hagley. These four boys, local to the area, were in Hagley wood poaching some of the wild game on the estate when they came across a large tree. They thought that the tree would be an ideal place to hunt and steal from birds nests. One of the boys, Bob Farmer, began to climb the tree to scout for any possible nests to thieve from.
By Matt McCarthy7 years ago in Criminal
10 Crime Scene Photos with Horrifying Backstories. Top Story - October 2018.
Photos have a way of conveying intensity, despair, and horror in ways that words often can't. Pictures are one of the most powerful tools criminal investigators have when it comes to solving homicides—and oddly enough, they are one of the most emotionally striking parts of any true crime story as well.
By Cato Conroy7 years ago in Criminal
A Story for a Dead Man
I set my alarm as if I was setting a bomb rigged to blow. It’s 1:22am on a Friday night and I’m half drunk and dreading tomorrow’s wake up. I’ve always hated tomorrow’s wake up, it didn’t matter the time or day or what was supposed to be happening, I just didn’t like waking up much. They vocally agreed to get up at 6am as I silently disagreed and set my alarm for 6:16am. Sleep may be the cousin of death but it’s sure a friend of mine.
By Nich J. Lack7 years ago in Criminal
