Chicago man arrested in connection with teen girl’s slaying in Gary
A Chicago man has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found in a Gary alley.
DNA Evidence
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Prosecutors: Envelope DNA linked man to cold case rapes, assaults
A man is being held in Shelbyville on a $20 million bond after he was linked to a series of sexual assaults in a central Indiana county more than 30 years ago by his DNA on an envelope for a utility bill payment, authorities said.
Judge nixes Trump bid to delay suit from woman alleging rape
A New York judge knocked down President Donald Trump’s bid to delay a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of rape, ruling in a decision released Thursday that the presidency doesn’t shield him from the case.
SCOTUS halts Texas execution over clergy question
The US Supreme Court granted a reprieve Tuesday to a Texas inmate scheduled to die for his conviction of fatally stabbing an 85-year-old woman more than two decades ago, continuing a more than four-month delay of executions in the nation’s busiest death penalty state during the coronavirus pandemic.
Grandfather’s sexual misconduct with a minor conviction upheld
A man who sexually abused his granddaughter and tried to allege that her father could have been the “source” of her resultant pregnancy had his convictions upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Supreme Court extends will-witnessing order due to COVID-19
An Indiana Supreme Court order relating to probate and estate planning documents executed during the health crisis posed by COVID-19 will remain in effect until the health emergency is over, the high court announced Friday.
DNA under victim’s nails leads to arrest in 2000 Indianapolis killing
A northern Indiana man has been charged in the 2000 killing of a man found dead in an Indianapolis hotel room after his DNA matched DNA found beneath the victim’s fingernails, prosecutors said.
US Supreme Court rejects ex-cop’s appeal of rape convictions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal for a former Oklahoma City police officer convicted of sexually assaulting black women he encountered while patrolling the city’s low-income neighborhoods.
Detective’s false testimony won’t lead to vacated conviction, COA rules
A man convicted of obstruction of justice following the murder of his stepmom did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his conviction should be vacated based on a detective’s false testimony.
Appeals panel upholds South Bend murder conviction
A man convicted of murdering the person he believed was responsible for killing his sister failed to convince a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals that his conviction was in any way flawed.
Report: Half of Americans OK if DNA testing companies share user data to solve crimes
Almost half of Americans don’t mind if DNA submitted for ancestry testing is used to solve crimes, according to a Pew Research Center report.
Indiana man faces trial in 1994 Wisconsin murder case
A judge ordered an Indiana man to stand trial for the 1994 death of a woman who was strangled and run over with a car in Madison, Wisconsin. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn said during a hearing Thursday that there’s enough evidence for 52-year-old Willie L. Coleman to be tried for first-degree reckless homicide in the Nov. 4, 1994, death Lula Cunnigan.
Presumed dad’s paternity vacated, granted to true biological father
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order establishing paternity for man after genetic testing revealed he was not the biological father of a child he and the child’s mother claimed was his. Paternity was instead ordered for the child’s revealed biological father.
Indiana man charged with murder, rape in 1988 cold case
FBI agents have arrested a Merrillville man in the 1988 rape and killing of a mother of four whose body was found in an abandoned home.
Vigo County man convicted in homeless man’s fatal shooting
A western Indiana man has been convicted in the fatal shooting of a homeless man he suspected of vandalizing his classic automobile. A Vigo County jury found 49-year-old Clarence Bell Jr. guilty of murder Thursday in 37-year-old Raymond Rose’s September 2018 killing.
Porter County to offer genetic tests for juvenile offenders
The juvenile court for northwestern Indiana’s Porter County is partnering with a laboratory to offer genetic testing for young offenders to help see what psychiatric medications might help them.
Muncie man freed in 2017 alleges wrongful rape conviction
An Indiana man who spent nearly 25 years in prison for a 1992 rape until DNA evidence helped free him alleges in a federal lawsuit that he was wrongfully convicted by authorities who fabricated evidence against him and took advantage of his severe mental health issues.
DNA testing developing, strengthening wrongful conviction cases
The science of DNA testing is evolving, and that’s a good thing for wrongful conviction reform advocates like Fran Watson. She talked about the changes Friday before a session of the Indiana State Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Conference in French Lick.
Police: DNA determines 1972 killer of Indiana student
Police say a man just identified as the killer of an Indiana State University student in 1972 was killed in a shootout with police six years later. Terre Haute Police Chief Shawn Keen said Monday that a DNA sample from a son of Jeffrey Lynn Hand was used to connect him to the killing of 19-year-old Pamela Milam.
Man gets 115 years for Indianapolis woman’s 1998 rape and murder
A man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for the 1998 rape and murder of an Indianapolis woman whose body was found partially burned.