Archive for the ‘ Uncategorized ’ Category

Jack the Ripper case might really be solved

The true identity of notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper can now be revealed thanks to a DNA breakthrough, it has been claimed.

A world-renowned DNA expert claims Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski – who was one of six key suspects in the historical mystery –  is the killer.

The real identity of Jack the Ripper – who is responsible for at least five murders in East London in 1888 – has baffled criminologists for decades and led to a range of theories.

As reported by The Mail on Sunday, a shawl which was found by victim Catherine Eddowes has now been analysed using sophisticated modern forensic techniques.

As well as containing her DNA, it also had the killer’s DNA on it.

 

This shawl has now been examined by world-renowned Dr Jari Louhelainen, who analyses evidence from historical crime scenes.

He then managed to compare DNA from the shawl to DNA from the victim’s relatives and the suspects – leading to Dr Louhelainen concluding that Kosminski was the killer.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jack-ripper-world-renowned-dna-expert-4177665#ixzz3CaHAlo12
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

This was one that I never thought would be solved just because of how long ago it happened.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Jack the Ripper unmasked: How amateur sleuth used DNA breakthrough to identify Britain’s most notorious criminal 126 years after string of terrible murders

  • DNA evidence on a shawl found at Ripper murder scene nails killer
  • By testing descendants of victim and suspect, identifications were made
  • Jack the Ripper has been identified as Polish-born Aaron Kosminski
  • Kosminski was a suspect when the Ripper murders took place in 1888
  • Hairdresser Kosminski lived in Whitechapel and was later put in an asylum

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746321/Jack-Ripper-unmasked-How-amateur-sleuth-used-DNA-breakthrough-identify-Britains-notorious-criminal-126-years-string-terrible-murders.html#ixzz3CaHXlS2P
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

Not much more out there right now but it looks interesting.

Make Your Own Toastitron 3000

NOT a post about Crime.

This was just such a great idea that I wanted to share with as many as I could.

If you have ‘stray kitties’ around your house and live in a cold climate this is inexpensive and a great way to help a homeless pet.

Make Your Own Toastitron 3000.

Happy New Year

I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

May the new year bring you peace, love and happiness.

If science could alter the mind of a killer, would you approve? (via Anguished Repose)

Interesting Idea.

If science could alter the mind of a killer, would you approve? Would it be nice to be able to control, change, how some people tick… Like THESE people: [via Live Science] Speculation about who might be the alleged serial killer dumping human remains along beaches on Long Island may be unwarranted so early in the investigation, criminologists say. But despite having diverse motives, serial killers do tend to share certain personality traits, and experts are learning more about what makes these killers tick, … Read More

via Anguished Repose

Searchers race against nature for clues to Long Island killings (via This Just In)

One of the blogs I subscribe to.

Watch CNN Newsroom with Don Lemon at 7 p.m. ET for more on the case. On this cold, wind-whipped, rainy spring day, I can tell you one thing about this place: The barrier islands, facing the Atlantic on one side and Great South Bay to the north, are inhospitable and uninviting. But it's the best time of year for investigators searching for more victims. That's because the twisted, prickly, thorny brush — beautiful in its own way — is beginning t … Read More

via This Just In

New York and NJ May Share a Killer

According to the NY Post a Suffolk County (NY) spokesperson confirmed that the NY police are in touch with the New Jersey police.

The New York Post has dubbed the unknown serial killer Long Island’s Jack the Ripper.

(I do not like that name. Makes me think of a slasher and I do not think that is the case. I know, a very idiotic thing to complain about but it does seem to feed into a glorification of the killer and well as misinformation as to method. I also am no fan of the way that they speak of the victims.)

Suffolk County cops said today they are exploring new information suggesting a link between Long Island’s Jack the Ripper and the murder of four hookers in Atlantic City in 2006.

“Our homicide detectives are in touch with the police investigating the Atlantic City murders,” a Suffolk police spokesman said.

The Post reported today that Kim Raffo, one of the victims of a suspected Atlantic City serial killer, spent five weeks on Long Island with husband Hugh Auslander shortly before she vanished.

Madelaine Vitale, a spokeswoman for the county prosecutor in New Jersey’s Atlantic County, said there have been no developments in the unsolved hooker homicides near Atlantic City since the bodies began appearing on Long Island last year.

Read more:

The NY Post is also stating that the police have a suspect.

Police believe they know the identity of the Long Island Ripper, The Post has learned.

Cops on Long Island are “looking at somebody,” said a law-enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation.

He refused to elaborate.

The stunning revelation comes as police are exploring a possible link between the serial killer — suspected of dumping the bodies of eight victims along a remote Suffolk beachfront — and the grisly murders of four hookers in Atlantic City in 2006.

“Our homicide detectives are in touch with the [Atlantic City] police,” a Suffolk police spokesman told reporters.

The four remains discovered in December — all later identified as Craigslist hookers — had been wrapped in burlap.

But the new discoveries — one found last week and three more Monday — were dumped in a different manner, and were also found farther east off Ocean Parkway, the source said.

Cops have not determined how long the remains had been there, and the new discoveries may predate the others, they said.

“We don’t know their sex, we don’t know their age, we don’t know anything about them,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said from the mobile command center at Oak Beach.

Read more

I am not a fan of the NY Post, I think that they run wild with stories. The stories also strike me as tabloid stories rather than news stories. They also have a habit of having a lot of ‘unnamed sources’.

I do hope though that they are right about a possible suspect.

N.Y./ Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Update

There are a lot of new links almost no new information yet.

The Village Voice has an inspiring quote from Shannan Gilbert’s mom:

The latest bodies were found Monday — three, to be exact — following one last Tuesday and four in late 2010. Gilbert has not been found, but her mother remains hopeful. “”If it wasn’t for my daughter, these bodies never would have been found,” she said. “Everyone has their destiny, maybe this was hers. I’m still hoping she comes home.”

That quote can also be found in a very in-depth article in the New York Times.

The WNYC News Blog spoke with Dr. Louis Schlesinger about the case trying to get some insight into the killer.

Police continued to scour a barrier island near Oak Beach, Long Island, just 45 miles east of New York City this week following the grisly discovery of eight bodies — four of whom were prostitutes. Details of the slayings are sparse, but experts painted a vivid picture of the mind likely behind the slayings based on the past behavior of cold-blooded killers.

Dr. Louis Schlesinger, a professor of forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said this case had the hallmarks of sexually motivated crime.

“When someone is killing this way, the power and control is sexually stimulating,” Schlesinger said.

Serial killers are often romanticized in Hollywood as suave, intelligent types, but that is often not the case, Schlesinger said.

“Most are blue collar guys who are unemployed,” he said. “When they’re apprehended they’re disappointingly below average in every aspect.”

Most serial killers tend to be “normal”-seeming guys, according to Harold Schechter, a professor of Literature at Queens College who has written extensively about serial killers, both non-fiction and fiction.

“Perpetrators are often guys leading pretty conventional normal lives, with wives and children and normal jobs,” Schechter said.

Murders of prostitutes date back to Victorian times when perps were called “harlot killers,” he added.

Bruce Barket, former Nassau County assistant district attorney and criminal defense attorney, said there is another common thread among serial killers.

“One thing you can say about serial killers: they don’t stop because they convert,” he said. “They don’t find Jesus and stop. They stop because they’re caught or they die.”

Very true Mr. Barket.

Back to the NY Times article. The article goes through the history of the case to date.

It confirms that none of the 8 bodies found so far is Ms. Gilbert.

Investigators determined on Tuesday that none of the eight victims was Ms. Gilbert, the 24-year-old prostitute from Jersey City whose disappearance sparked the initial search near Ocean Parkway and Gilgo Beach.

The article mentions that police are seeming to spread out the search area.

On Tuesday, investigators focused their attention not only on the brush and grassy dunes where the bodies were found, but also on Oak Beach, a residential area a couple miles away. In the morning, a busload of investigators entered the gated community, known as the Oak Island Beach Association. Investigators have returned numerous times to the gated community since last year: It is where Ms. Gilbert was last seen.

Since they have moved part of the investigation into a residential area I’d guess that they are following leads or following up from other clues.

Another thing I find interesting is that the police are not just lumping all the bodies together. They have made statements that could lead one to wonder if they have a reason to think there 2 more than 2 killers.

The bodies of the four prostitutes discovered in December were deposited aboveground and spread over a quarter-mile. Each one had been placed roughly 500 feet from the next, and each one lay about 50 feet from the north side of Ocean Parkway. Investigators said that although they were placed there at different times, the four women were all in their 20s and that they had all advertised for clients on Craigslist.

Dominick Varrone, chief of detectives in the Suffolk County police, said that it was too early to ascertain much from the new remains; he noted that three of the four newly discovered bodies “were of a considerable distance from the original four.”

He said that the police still believe that the first four victims were “the work of a serial killer,” but that it was too soon to determine if any of the latest victims were connected to the earlier murders.

He also added that it seemed that the four latest victims had been left there at least as long as the earlier victims, who had been reported missing between July 2007 and September 2010.

There has been no more information about the bodies, no more official discussion about a connection to the Atlantic City NJ bodies. I do want to note that it does not seem that there are NJ officers assisting in NY. I guess there could be but I have not seen any in uniform nor have I seen any official reports about it.

The search for Shannan Gilbert continues as does the search for more clues. Hopefully there will not be anymore bodies.

SERIAL KILLERS w/ Professor Sara Waller (via Pork Rhine anyone?)

This is from one of the great blogs that I read.

Passing it along.

SERIAL KILLERS w/ Professor Sara Waller On the last episode of Strange Frequencies Radio, Jason Korbus and I talked about serial killers. Why do people kill? And why is our society obsessed with serial killers? To help us answer questions like this, our guest today is Professor Sara Waller. Waller is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University. Having earned her Masters and PhD from Loyola University in Chicago, Waller's research interests are in Philosophy of Mind … Read More

via Pork Rhine anyone?

Update on the Daytona Beach Killer

Tips pour in after TV show on Daytona serial killer


BY LYDA LONGA, STAFF WRITER
March 26, 2011 12:05 AM
Iwana Patton, found Feb. 24, 2006
Julie Green, found Jan. 14, 2006
Laquetta Gunther, found Dec. 26, 2005
Stacey Gage, found Jan. 2, 2008

DAYTONA BEACH — With zero to go on in the case of four murdered women, police here are hoping that a dozen or so new tips could lead them to a serial killer and fire up the cold case that has confounded them since 2006.

Ever since the case of the Daytona Beach serial killer was featured on “America’s Most Wanted” last Saturday, 50 new tips have rolled in. Police say about one-third of those are solid.

“We’ll be immediately looking into those,” said Sgt. Clem Malek, a retired Daytona Beach detective who was brought back to the agency to investigate the case.

It was 2006 when detectives learned the shooting deaths of three women was the work of a serial killer.

Police compared the DNA the killer left on two of those first three victims with DNA samples stored in the FBI’s national database. The DNA kept in the database belongs to other violent criminals from across the country.

But there was a sticking point. The man responsible for the local deaths had apparently never committed a violent crime or had never been caught committing one; his DNA sample was not in the FBI database.

Then, in January 2008, a fourth woman was found in a wooded area near an old church. There was no DNA because her body had been exposed to the elements for about a month. It was the only case where the body of the victim was not found immediately following the murder. But the killer left behind other clues that were “eerily similar” to those left behind in the other three shootings, Police Chief Mike Chitwood said at the time.

One thing was certain. All four victims had been shot with the same weapon, a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber Sigma Series VE. Police have been trying to find their suspect by identifying, via paperwork, who may have purchased the weapon but it is a lengthy and difficult process.

A few weeks ago, though, police released a few more clues about their wanted man in this newspaper and then on the popular TV show.

Based on tire tracks left at the scene of one of the shootings, investigators believe the killer may have been driving — or still drives — a 2003 Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable. The tires that left their mark in the mud at that murder scene — the second killing in January 2006 — were the factory tires placed on either the Taurus or the Mercury when those cars rolled off the assembly line, Malek said.

Malek also said the car could be someone’s company vehicle.

Additionally, all four women were found nude, but the killer left socks on three of his four victims, police said.

The clues are significant because police are hoping that someone out there knows something about the tires, the car or the socks.

“We have nothing,” Chitwood said Friday. “That’s why we went on (“America’s Most Wanted”). At least now we have something to go on. There are about a dozen tips that we have to jump all over.”

Malek, however, wants the public to know that while police have fresh leads to pursue, the case is by no means solved.

“We are still welcoming phone calls,” he said.

If you have any information concerning any of these murders, please call the hotline, 866-419-8573.

Source

The America’s Most Wanted Episode

My earlier ‘articles’ on the killings here and here.

Jack Mogale, African Serial Killer Guilty of 52 Crimes

Jack Mogale has been found guilty in the South Gauteng High Court of 52 of the 61 charges against him, including rape, kidnapping and murder.

Judge Frans Kgomo found Mogale guilty of nine kidnappings, 19 rapes, 16 murders, an attempted murder, three robberies with aggravating circumstances, a fraud or theft, an assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, a sexual assault and an escape from lawful custody, notes a report on the IoL site. Mogale (42) had pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Dubbed the ‘West-End serial killer’ by police before his identity was discovered, Mogale lured adult black females to open areas where he raped and murdered them. This was often at the West-End brick and clay factory near his home in Waterworks, Westonaria, and at various locations in Lenasia.

Source

“I didn’t do anything. You know how life is, this is a challenge, I didn’t do any of those things. I don’t even know those women”

These were the words of serial killer and rapist Jack Mogale before he was found guilty of 52 crimes, including 16 murders and 12 rapes.

Judge Frans Kgomo described Mogale as a liar who contradicted himself numerous times and tried to shift blame every time he was cornered.

“I can safely say that the accused was an untruthful witness whose evidence cannot be relied on. He contradicted himself and came up with new versions. I formed the impression that he was not telling the whole truth,” said Kgomo.

“The state has proved beyond reasonable doubt the accused’s guilt”.

Mogale may have been nailed by DNA evidence, admissions, two women who survived his killing spree and a confession statement he made after the arrest, but it was his fiancee, main state witness Charlotte Manaka who put the nail in the coffin with a testimony that contradicted all of Mogale’s versions.

Kgomo started judgment by dismissing Mogale’s version that police had conspired against him by taking a used condom from his house on the day he was arrested and using the specimen found in it as DNA evidence.

“This defense is very suspicious, especially because the DNA kit was compiled long before the accused was even identified as a suspect and long before he was arrested. The accused’s own girlfriend testified that they were not using condoms,” said the judge.

The judge also said Manaka confirmed that Mogale normally wore a Zion Christian Church badge or sangoma beads. That confirmed the evidence of two women who said they were tricked into believing Mogale was a prophet sent by God to cure them. They both identified him by the badge and sangoma beads.

Kgomo further rejected Mogale’s version that police fabricated the contents of his confession statement, calling it a “fragment of his own imagination”.

Mogale killed 16 women and raped 12 in the Lenasia and Westonaria area between 2008 and 2009. He was also convicted on numerous counts of theft, kidnapping, sexual assault and escaping from lawful custody.

One of the alleged victims was 19 years old when Mogale allegedly battered her face with a brick while raping her in an open veld in Westonaria.

She testified that she had accepted a lift from Mogale and only realised that she was in danger when he took the wrong turn and became aggressive when she asked where they were going.

The woman said after the rape, he left her unconscious and bleeding in the veld. She only woke up the following day and crawled to a nearby road where she was able to get help.

Mogale allegedly murdered Hanyeleni Mhangwani who had testified against him in a RDP house fraud case at Westonaria magistrate’s court.

He also raped and killed Dipuo Mogadi, Umanikazonke Sindane, Sonto Tsotetsi, Nothembela Ndabisa, Dipuo Denese, Mamikie Tlallo and nine other women whose bodies have not been identified.

“Evidence showed that a sim card belonging to the accused was inserted in the victim’s missing cellphone. The accused could not explain how that happened when he was questioned,” said Kgomo.

The judge went on to say that evidence indicates that the murders were the work of a serial killer and it all pointed to Mogale.

“In the light of the totality of evidence, much of which is uncontested such as the DNA evidence, the admissions and testimonies, it can be confirmed that in all the bodies, except the one of a child, the cause of death was strangulation. Bodies were left in sexual positions, naked and raped,” said the judge.

“On the day he was arrested, the accused displayed hatred for women, he behaved like a psychopath and even showing his manhood to the female police officer. When he met the same policewoman at the station he said “when I come out of here you will be the first person I rape and kill”

The pre-sentencing trial will start on Thursday.

New Age Article

 

Serial Killers are Not just American White Males.

As information is shared and knowledge is gained the stereotypes that allow some serial killers to continue hiding in plain sight will dissipate. People will hopefully become more aware and maybe lives can be saved.

%d bloggers like this: