cold case – CrimeFeed

ST. LOUIS, MO — On February 28, 1983, the headless body of an African-American girl, who was estimated to be between 8 and 11 years old, was found in the basement of an abandoned house in St. Louis, Missouri.

The two men who discovered the body had been looking for a pipe to fix their broken van. Instead, they found a crime scene that looked like something out of a nightmare.

The young victim would later be nicknamed “The St. Louis Jane Doe,” “Hope,” and “Little Jane Doe.”

Investigators stated that they believed her killer raped and murdered her three to five days before dumping her decapitated body at 5635 Clemens Avenue. At first, police believed that the victim may have been a prostitute — but a closer inspection of the body revealed that she had not yet gone through puberty.

The little girl’s body was naked except for a yellow, long-sleeved V-neck sweater, and she had two coats of red nail polish on her fingers. She was left on her stomach, with her hands bound behind her back with red and white nylon rope. She was well-nourished and showed no signs of abuse — someone had cared for her.

Her head had been severed cleanly by a large blade, police said — possibly a carving knife. Mold was growing out of the hole in her neck, indicating that the body had been in the basement for some time, according to the Riverfront Times. Chillingly, her head has never been found, but fingerprints, footprints, and DNA information have been collected.

Over the years, investigators have investigated thousands of leads, and compared the forensic evidence to many other missing girls. They have not yet found a match. The murder has become perhaps the most notorious cold case in the history of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and has haunted many of the detectives who worked the original case.

The body went unclaimed on a slab in the city morgue for several months. In December 1983, she was buried in a pauper’s grave in Washington Park Cemetery. Gravediggers were her pallbearers. In 2013, authorities exhumed the body to gather more forensic information about the victim.

They discovered that her remains had been misplaced. Eventually, they found the body by pinpointing where a photograph of the casket had been taken on the day of the burial.

They performed tests on her bones, and discovered that she had spent a large portion of her life in the Midwestern and Northeastern states — or possibly West Virginia. She was estimated to weigh between 70 and 80 pounds. Testing also revealed that she had spina bifida, but it is not known if she exhibited symptoms.

Her killer has never been found. One suspect whose name emerged was serial killer and child molester Vernon Brown, who murdered a nine-year-old girl in a similar fashion — head severed with a long knife. But Brown was executed in 2005, and never confessed to murdering Little Jane Doe. Others believe that the crime was too sophisticated for Brown since he reportedly had below average intelligence.

The bloody yellow sweater has since been lost. Investigators were working with a psychic in Florida on the case, who wanted to touch the girl’s sweater. Police mailed it to her, but never received it back. The psychic said it must have been lost in the mail — one more thing missing, in the case of Little Jane Doe.

Anyone with information about Little Jane Doe can call the St. Louis Police Department at (314) 444-5822 or the St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office at (314) 622-4971.

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St. Louis Public Radio

Main photo: The shirt worn by St. Louis Jane Doe at the time of her murder, along with the cord that bound her [Wikipedia]; The bound hands of “Little Jane Doe” [The Unknown Storybook / YouTube (screenshot)]

The post Who Is “Little Jane Doe”? A Headless Body, A Haunting Cold Case appeared first on CrimeFeed.

TORONTO, CANADA — A Canadian graduate student and criminal profiler said she tried to warn Toronto police about a serial killer almost a year before they arrested landscaper Bruce McArthur.

Sasha Reid, a Ph.D. candidate in applied psychology at the University of Toronto, told CTV News that she was building a missing persons database as a project when she noticed a connection between three cases in the city’s Gay Village.

McArthur was arrested on January 18 and has been charged with the murders of six men so far.

Police found the remains of at least six people on the property of a home where McArthur, 66, stored his work equipment for his landscaping company.

Using victim data, Reid, who has been studying serial killers for over a decade, created a criminal profile of the killer. Her profile said the killer would be a man with a blue-collar job, a history of violence, and no college degree, according to the Toronto Star. She even predicted that the killer would be disposing of the remains of his victims in or near their home.

McArthur had a violent past that included an assault with a metal pipe in 2003. He has no education beyond high school.

A very fair and balanced assessment. Serial homicide cases are exceptionally difficult to solve. Community cohesion and action in the face of perceived threats can help significantly. https://t.co/QsBNxku27F

— Sasha Reid (@TheReal_DrReid) February 28, 2018

But Reid also got some key parts of the profile wrong: She predicted that the killer would be around 30 years old and a person of color.

Reid said that she called the police in July 2017, spoke to a detective for about 25 minutes about her profile and said that he seemed “very receptive” to receiving information. She said that the detective told her that the rumors had been circulating for a while about a serial murderer targeting the gay community.

A Toronto Police spokesperson would not confirm the name of anyone who had come forward with information.

Police, who faced criticism for not doing enough to investigate concerns from members of the LGBT community, launched an investigation called Project Prism to investigate the disappearance of two of McArthur’s alleged victims.

According to a police spokesperson, the investigators received thousands of tips.

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Main photo: Sasha Reid (left) and Bruce McArthur (right) [CTV News (screenshot)]

The post Grad Student Claims She Told Police About Toronto Serial Killer A Year Ago appeared first on CrimeFeed.

Between 1974 and 1986, the fiend originally known as the “East Area Rapist” and the “Original Night Stalker” decimated California from Sacramento to Orange County. In time, he came to be known as the “Golden State Killer.”

At present, authorities believe the Golden State Killer committed 10 to 12 murders, 45 sexual assaults, and 120 residential burglaries. He has never been caught.

Contra Costa County cold case investigator Paul Holes is one of the foremost forensic experts on this singularly chilling chapter in crime history. Holes figures prominently in the ID documentary series The Golden State Serial Killer: It’s Not Over, and he took some time to talk to CrimeFeed about the case.

CRIMEFEED: What was it about the Golden State Killer case that initially drew you to investigating it?

PAUL HOLES: It was one of those cases that you come across that strikes you not just because of the scope of the series of crimes or the number of victims, but the actual fear of the victims and the actual reality of what they went through.

That immediately struck me, and as I learned more about the case, I was just so compelled to seek justice for the victims.

I almost backed into this series in 1994 where we had a bunch of unsolved rape cases and new DNA technology. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations had passed on a lot of the rape cases, but as I studied the cases, the series grew and my passion to bring this guy to justice kicked in more than ever.

Then, as I met with survivors and got to hear them talk about their fear, their trauma, and what he did them, it was no longer about “Let’s see what this technology can do,” and it became, “We have got to catch this guy!”

You’ve said you believe authorities are closer than ever before to finding the Golden State Killer. Why is that?

We have more resources now. We have dedicated investigators working full time. The FBI is involved.

The public is more aware, too. I think the ID show [Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over] is another piece of information that could get to the right person — it could reach someone who knows something, who knows the truth, and it could get them to make the call that finally says, “Here he is.”

What are some of your most powerful assets and techniques in pursuing the Golden State Killer?

Well, DNA is huge. This guy was all about self-preservation. He did everything he could to eliminate evidence. Still, he left his DNA all over the state of California. And I believe DNA will be his undoing.

A lot of attention is being focused on the Golden State Killer now because of the book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. Did you work with Michelle?

I did. I knew Michelle for three years, and I worked with her. I’ve told people in the past that I’ve been standoffish when it comes to talking to the press, because I don’t want to divulge anything I’m not supposed to. Michelle caught me by surprise, though.

She really surprised me with her knowledge of the case, and we spoke for months. I told her some things off the record, and when her Los Angeles Magazine article [on the Garden State Killer] came out, I saw that she didn’t burn me. That really kicked off a sense of trust. We had an innate ability to trust each other.

From that point, we almost investigated the case together. She really was a partner with me in this, except that she didn’t ride shotgun in my car. She did her investigation and I did mine, and we shared suspects and information. Naturally, I was devastated when she passed.

What are some contributions that the public and non-professional investigators have made to the search?

There is a huge crowdsourcing element that has been positive. Each member of the public gathers information and looks at it from their own point of expertise from their own background, so there’s an exponential growth of knowledge that can be shared with the law-enforcement community.

The Catch-22 is that it can be easy to get overwhelmed by all that information, tips, personal theories. I’m retiring in a few weeks, and I had to shut down my contact with the public investigation community because I need to focus. Otherwise, I might get pulled in 30 different directions.

If and when authorities do find the Golden State Killer — what happens then?

If he’s alive, I hope he’ll be prosecuted by California authorities, and I imagine he’ll have to face the death penalty.

Give us your best guess right this minute: Who is the Golden State Killer and where is he?

I believe the Golden State Killer is a man living a normal life. He’s married. He’s got adult children, maybe even has grandchildren. He blends in. His neighbors think he’s a “good guy.”

I believe he’ll be like Dennis Rader, the BTK killer. Rader was the president of his church, he volunteered, attended his kids’ school functions, and his wife had no idea about his other life he had. I think the Golden State Killer is the same kind of guy.

Watch the full series of Investigation Discovery’s The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Paul Holes examining evidence [Investigation Discovery]

The post Interview: Cold Case Expert Paul Holes On Hunting “The Golden State Killer” appeared first on CrimeFeed.

GOLETA, CA — Debbi Domingo was only 15 years old when her mother was brutally raped and murdered by the Golden State Killer.

On July 27, 1981, the serial killer — who has also been known as the Original Night Stalker and the East Area Rapist — murdered Cheri Domingo, 35, and her boyfriend, Greg Sanchez, 27, at Domingo’s home on Toltec Way in Goleta. The killer has never been caught.

Debbi discusses the horrific night that changed her life forever and the case that continues to haunt her in the Investigation Discovery series The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over.

Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez [Investigation Discovery]

Today, she is focused on helping solve the crimes. “We have DNA; we need a name and a face to go with it,” Debbi says on her YouTube channel.

“My goal, personally, is to be the squeaky wheel,” she says. “I firmly believe that one of the reasons that he has never been caught is because the public doesn’t know about him: who he was, what he did, and how they can help catch him.”

Debbi says that she was going through a rebellious streak at the time, and had gone to stay with a friend in Santa Barbara a few weeks before her mother was murdered. “Looking back, she wasn’t asking for much — she just wanted me to abide by the house rules,” Debbi says.

The last time she spoke to her mother was on a pay phone — and the two got into a screaming argument. “I just told her, you know, just get out of my life,” she says. “No one ever dreams that that would actually happen.” That final conversation would later haunt her.

The day after the murders, a real estate agent found the bodies. Domingo was on the bed, while Sanchez was in the closet. Both had been severely beaten, and blood was all over the walls and on the ceiling.

Debbi never went back to the house she’d shared with her mother.

Investigators say that Sanchez was shot in the face. They believe that he was able to temporarily escape and got into a physical struggle with the killer, who then murdered him before sexually assaulting Debbi’s mother on the bed.

Many experts believe that Greg scared the offender, who realized that his mistake meant that he could have been killed or caught. After the Domingo/Sanchez murders, he disappeared — at least, for a while.

After her mother’s murder, Debbi moved to San Diego to live with her father, and for several years her life was on a downward spiral as, she said, she shut down rather than going through the grieving process. She battled with drug addiction, and at one point things got so bad that her children were taken into foster care.

But Debbi managed to turn her life around.

A teenage photo of Debbi Domingo [Investigation Discovery]

She got married, now works for the State of Texas, and says she’s been clean since 1997. Between them, she and her husband have five children.

In 2011, investigators used DNA evidence to link the murders of Cheri and Greg to the perpetrator who was then known as the East Area Rapist. Today, Debbi is trying to learn the identity of the most prolific unsolved serial killer in modern history.

She discusses the case in several YouTube videos, and says that she has enlisted the help of citizen sleuths who use forums like Reddit, as well as law-enforcement sources.

The East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer is described as a white male, currently thought to be between the ages of 60 and 75 years old, and approximately five feet ten inches tall, according to the FBI.

Sketches of the suspected Golden State Killer [FBI]

He may have/had blond or light brown hair and an athletic build, and may have had an interest in the military or some military training that meant he would be familiar and proficient with firearms.

He typically targeted either single women or women sleeping in bed with a partner. If another person was present in the home, the killer would often tie them up and leave them to listen, helpless, as their loved one was raped.

The killer often wore a ski mask, and spoke to his victims in a rough whisper through clenched teeth.

He stole personal items from several of the victims including photographs, mementos and jewelry.

According to the FBI, the Golden State Killer is responsible for an estimated 45 rapes, 12 murders, and 120 burglaries between 1976 and 1986. The last crime linked to the serial killer occurred on May 5, 1986, when an 18-year-old was raped and murdered in her Irvine home.

The FBI has asked anyone with information about the Golden State Killer to contact them at (800) 225-5324, or leave a tip at tips.fbi.gov. The agency is offering a reward of up to $50,000.

Tips also can be left with retired Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Lt. Gary Kitzmann by calling (805) 681-4100, or the sheriff’s tip line at (805)681-4171.

Watch more about Debbi Domingo’s story in Investigation Discovery’s The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Debbi Domingo [Investigation Discovery]

The post “The Golden State Killer Murdered My Mom”: A Daughter’s Quest For Justice appeared first on CrimeFeed.

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK — A Suffolk County judge has ordered police to produce the recording of the 911 call made by Shannan Gilbert, the woman whose disappearance led to the discovery of several suspected victims of the Long Island Serial Killer.

Judge Sanford Berland directed the attorneys for Suffolk police to produce a copy of the recording for review by March 19. The tapes were requested as part of a lawsuit filed by Gilbert’s family.

Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, was reported missing from Oak Beach in May 2010. She disappeared after a meeting with Joseph Brewer, a client she first made contact with on Craiglist. Police were searching for her when they found the remains of 10 murder victims along Ocean Parkway. Gilbert’s remains were found in a Gilgo Beach marsh in 2011.

Shannan Gilbert [Jersey City Police Department]

Despite the fact that it was the search for Gilbert that led to the discovery of 10 other bodies, most of which were also determined to be escorts, police maintain that Gilbert perished by drowning in the marsh, and she was not a victim of the Long Island Serial Killer.

An attorney for Gilbert’s family, John Ray, said that they are seeking the recording of Gilbert’s 23-minute call — in which she reportedly told a 911 operator “they’re trying to kill me” — as well as 911 calls made by Brewer and two other Oak Beach residents, Barbara Brennan and Gus Coletti, on the night of Gilbert’s disappearance.

Ray told the court that detectives may be trying to hide information relating to this case. But the county’s defense attorney, Elaine Barraga, has denied this allegation and argued that the investigation would be compromised by releasing the tapes. She insists that there has been “certainly no effort in trying to hide or ‘fudge’ information.”

Gilbert’s family members have stated that they believe that she was murdered. In 2016, the family had a second autopsy conducted in which an independent medical examiner found that Shannan may have been victim of a homicide.

Police have disputed these findings. Her official cause of death is “undetermined.”

For more on this case, watch “The Long Island Serial Killer: New Revelations” episode of People Magazine Investigates on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Shannan Gilbert [People Magazine Investigates (screenshot)]

The post LISK Case: Judge Orders Police To Produce Shannan Gilbert’s 911 Recording appeared first on CrimeFeed.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Between February 1975 and May 1976, a stealth sniper stalked the women of Westchester County, a heavily populated enclave just north of New York City.

The mystery marksman struck 23 times, hitting unsuspecting females in the head, neck, or chest. Fortunately, none of the victims died. In fact, only one sustained a serious injury (which was fixed with emergency surgery).

Did this long-range assailant have the worst in aim in the world? No. In fact, he proved to be quite the marksman. So how were his targets able to just walk away? Because instead of a firearm, this strong-lunged loon used a blowgun and, rather than bullets, the objects that broke the women’s skin were pointy-tipped projectiles. Hence the still-unknown criminal’s nickname: “The Westchester Dartman.”

Shortly following the final Dartman attack, another lone shooter terrorized the New York area in general and Westchester in particular: David Berkowitz, the notorious “Son of Sam” serial killer. Berkowitz, of course, opted for picking off (mostly) women with gunpowder and hot lead over breath-power and flying steel. Indeed, his original press moniker — “The .44-Caliber Killer” — makes direct reference to his deadly weapon of choice.

To massive fanfare in August 1977, police nabbed Berkowitz. The Westchester Dartman, however, has never been identified, let alone apprehended.

As Berkowitz lived in Westchester (and grew up in the nearby Bronx), and the Dartman’s dastardly doings ceased once “Son of Sam” took to shooting people (and never started again once he went to jail), many have wondered through the years whether or not the infamous murderer was also the baffling blow-gunner.

Among the prominent observers who views “Son-of-Sam-as-Dartman” concept as credible is Anthony Scarpino, Westchester County’s present District Attorney. Scarpino says that if Berkowitz had escalated from non-lethal assaults to serial murder, it would be in keeping with a typical psychopathic pattern:

“It’s elementary that they generally start to do acts of a lesser degree of criminality and they gradually progress to a more serious one. They just don’t start by committing the homicide.”

Still, the evidence remains entirely circumstantial. Plus, as Scarpino has pointed out, the statute of limitations long ago expired on the dart crimes, which eliminates further legal investigation. Nonetheless, conspiracy theorists continue to mull over the possibilities.

In the classic investigative best-seller The Ultimate Evil, journalist Maury Terry posits that Berkowitz acted in conjunction with The Children, a Satan-worshipping spinoff of the eccentric sect The Process Church and that he didn’t commit his deadly transgressions alone. Terry also argues that Berkowitz and The Children perpetrated numerous ritualistic crimes around Westchester prior to the Son of Sam slayings, including the sacrificial slaughter of 88 German Shepherds — and the Westchester Dartman attacks.

Lawrence Klausner, author of the true crime book Son of Sam, dismisses such notions. He points out that police found no blowgun in Berkowitz’s apartment, and that cops he talked to said they had a good idea who the Dartman was, but just couldn’t put together enough evidence to nail him.

Klausner also chalks the theory up to the tabloid media frenzy the Son of Sam case ignited, saying: “The aftermath — anything they came up with — sold newspapers. It’s very easy to assassinate people by word, you don’t have to use a bullet.”

For more on David Berkowitz, watch Investigation Discovery’s Son of Sam: The Hunt for a Killer on ID GO now!

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Main images: David Berkowitz [Wikipedia]; Blowgun [Wikimedia Commons]

The post Mystery: Was David Berkowitz, The “Son of Sam,” Also The “Westchester Dartman”? appeared first on CrimeFeed.

MASON CITY, IA — Police are investigating two vehicles that may be connected to the disappearance of an Iowa news anchor 23 years ago, according to a new report.

Jodi Huisentruit was a 27-year-old anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City. On June 27, 1995, she did not show up for work to anchor the 6 A.M. broadcast — and she has not been seen since. Investigators believe that someone kidnapped Jodi shortly after 4 A.M. as she went to her red car in the parking lot of her apartment complex. In the parking lot, police found signs of a struggle.

Neighbors said they heard a scream at around that time, and noticed a white van. Investigators later found her red high heels, blow dryer, hair spray, and earrings scattered around. They also reportedly found an unidentified partial palm print on her car and her bent car key on the ground, which led them to believe that she was unlocking her car door when she was taken.

The Mason City Police Department executed a search warrant on March 20, 2017, for GPS data on two cars related to John Vansice — which online court records have identified as a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC 1500. Vansice, 72, was a friend of Huisentruit’s who may have been the last person to see her before she vanished.

FindJodi.com reports that although the documents contained in the warrant were sealed in March 2017 for six months, and then again in October 2017 for an additional year, one of their readers spotted the information on an Iowa Courts Online search.

Vansice was reportedly questioned after the news anchor’s disappearance. The Des Moines Register reported that Jodi stopped by his house on the evening of June 26. Vansice told the paper at the time that he and Jodi had watched a videotape together, and that when she left his residence she was in “good spirits.”

Vansice claimed that police interviewed him and gave him a polygraph test, but stated that he had been “crucified” by the press and shunned by some of his friends.

Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said the search warrant is connected to the ongoing investigation, but did not offer any further comment. Anyone with information about Jodi’s disappearance is asked to contact Lieutenant Rich Jensen at the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636.

For more on the Jodi Huisentruit case, watch the “Breaking News” episode of Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Jodi Huisentruit [Wikimedia Commons]

The post New Lead In 1995 Cold Case Disappearance Of Iowa News Anchor appeared first on CrimeFeed.

LONG ISLAND, NY — Skeletal remains that have been found in the basement of a home in Suffolk County could solve the more than 50-year search for a missing woman.

Police were searching the home in Southold looking for clues in the 1966 disappearance of Louise Pietrewicz. The Suffolk County investigators found the remains on Monday beneath the home of the late William P. Boken, who was having an affair with Louise, then 38, at the time of her disappearance. Reportedly, the tip to search the basement came in from Boken’s former wife, who confessed to a detective that a burlap-wrapped body had been buried there.

Louise Pietrewicz Missing Poster

On October 5, 1966, Louise withdrew $1,273.80 from her personal account at Bridgehampton National Bank and closed it. The next day, according to a court document filed a decade later, she “disappeared in the company of a man friend.” The man, according to police, was Boken — a married Southold Town police officer at the time Louise began a romantic relationship with him.

Louise was married to Albin Pietrewicz, and the couple had a daughter named Sandy. But Albin was physically abusive, according to Sandy, who told The Suffolk Times that she saw her father push and beat her mother, and throw her against the wall. In fact, more than once, Louise would take Sandy and leave Albin.

Albin and Sally Pietrewicz [Gone: Farmers’ Daughters/screenshot]

Albin found out about Louise’s affair with Boken, and later told police that he felt humiliated. Boken’s wife, Judith, suffered similar treatment at the hands of her husband.

On the day she disappeared, Louise’s sister Josephine saw her in Boken’s car. Louise was never seen again.

On October 7, the Southold Town Board, led by Supervisor Lester Albertson, unanimously accepted Boken’s resignation from the police force, preceded by a few days of him calling in sick to work.

A few days later, Louise’s purse was found on the eastbound shoulder of Route 25 in Calverton or Manorville. Inside the bag were a World War II bond, her Social Security card, and a postcard bearing the handwritten name of Glen Cove doctor Edward Honig.

Louise Pietrewicz [Gone: Farmers’ Daughters/screenshot]

Other than that, there were never any clues, sightings, or a body. According to Sandy, there wasn’t even much of an investigation. And, as The Suffolk Times reported, “Louise was gone, and the two men most likely to know something about that — her husband and her boyfriend — both lived in Southold Town, just miles from each other. Town police would not have had to travel far to locate the prime suspects.”

When Albin was interviewed by the police, he was so angry and humiliated that he told them that he didn’t care where Louise was, or whether she was alive or dead.

Louise’s sister Josephine said Boken “informed our family that he had abandoned [our] sister on the streets in Brooklyn and did not know her whereabouts.”

Chillingly, in legal documents that came to light later, Boken had threatened his wife, Judith, telling her that he would bury her in their basement with “that other bitch.”

The current homeowner — who has no involvement in the case — consented to the search, police said on Monday night. The remains have been taken to the medical examiner to confirm their identity and the cause of death.

If you are in search of a missing person, make sure to enter their information into the database of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

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Main photo: Louise Pietrewicz [Missing Persons Database]

The post Skeletal Remains Found In Basement Could Solve Mystery Of Long Island Woman Missing Since 1966 appeared first on CrimeFeed.

The new ID documentary, Who Is Donnie Rudd? Keith Morrison Investigates, asks a question with many provocative answers, but perhaps not one definitive conclusion — yet.

The charismatic, multiply married lawyer and military veteran has reinvented himself repeatedly. He’s hosted a TV show as “Mr. Condo,” taught college courses, promoted alternative science treatments, and seemed to bound through life from one success to another.

Donnie’s stepdaughters Cindy and Lori Hart (above, main photo, with Donnie), however, knew Donnie as a conman, womanizer, and liar. They also suspected far worse, and with their stepsister Glory, they never let up on compiling evidence against him.

In 2016, the siblings’ dedication and hard work helped get the body of Noreen Rudd exhumed and reexamined. Noreen had been Donnie’s 19-year-old second wife who reportedly died in a car accident that paid him $100,000 in insurance money.

Authorities discovered that Noreen had actually died from a blunt-force head injury unrelated to the accident and ruled her case a homicide. Tireless detectives built a case against Donnie, and he presently stands charged with Noreen’s murder.

Donnie and Noreen Rudd wedding photo [Investigaton Discovery]

Donnie and Noreen Rudd wedding photo [Investigation Discovery]

In addition to Noreen’s death, however, Donnie is also under suspicion with other possible crimes, including the 1991 murder of his former client, Loretta Tabak-Bodtke. That case went cold, though, and Donnie has not been charged.

Cindy and Lori Hart (and others) also believe Donnie may have hastened the demise of their own mother Dianne, his third wife, by tampering with her cancer medication. Amplifying the tragedy for the Harts is that their mom remained obsessively dedicated to her “soulmate” Donnie until the very end.

In 2016, they published a book about their experience, tellingly titled, Living With the Devil: A Family’s Search for Truth in the Face of Deception, Infidelity, and Murder.

Living With the Devil cover art [Amazon]

Now, in conjunction with the airing of Who Is Donnie Rudd? Keith Morrison Investigates, Cindy Hart took some time to talk to CrimeFeed.

CRIMEFEED: Your story is like no one else’s. Thank you for sharing it with the world by way of your book and the ID show.

CINDY HART: It all started with the book. There were times I didn’t want to do it, but then I saw Oprah say that talking about her childhood made her stronger, and I told that to my sister, and that was real motivation.

What was your initial impression of Donnie?

Well, my dad was a blue-collar guy. He owned a gas station. Donnie was different. He was educated. He was a lawyer. He was funny. Our families were such close friends. I’d go over there to babysit, and he seemed very smart and funny. You have to remember, I was just 13 when all this started.

What initially happened to make you suspect something was off about Donnie?

Donnie was my mom’s soulmate. She left behind diaries and wrote all about that. He was her obsession.

It just was so strange, so out of character. My mom was very religious. We had such a stable family. Then my mom left my dad, she got kicked out of church, she just gave up everything. She gave up everything to be with Donnie.

When the stuff happened with Noreen, I was only 13, so I didn’t think it was murder. It was just this terrible car crash. I didn’t even know Donnie and Noreen had gotten married. To me, he was with my mom! So when that came out — everything was so strange.

What was it like watching your mom, Dianne, continually fall under Donnie’s spell?

It was extremely difficult. We had such a strong family, such a good home. And my mom was a great person — compassionate, caring. And smart! She was a member of Mensa and she went back to law school. So all I could do was wonder why she wouldn’t leave him. It was so out of character for her.

When I read my mom’s journals, I can still just start to cry. I cry over all she gave up and how there was nothing we could do to change her mind. I still wonder — “What if they had never done an autopsy on Noreen? Would my mom still be alive? What kind of life would she have?” That’s where the title of the book comes from, Living With the Devil. My mom couldn’t resist Donnie. She was willing to go to Hell just to be with him.

A lot of the case against Donnie arose from the material that you and Lori kept throughout the years. Was that a conscious decision?

At first, we held on to things about Donnie hoping to get my mother to change her mind about him and to leave him. We’d think, “If she sees that he’s cheating on her again, she’ll leave.” It never worked. No matter what. Still, we kept all that paperwork.

I’m a CPA and I’ve worked on fraud investigations. So later we kept that paperwork to validate our memories. We had all this validation. This is our history. Then we started to wonder, “What if something happens to us?” So it was important to preserve this validation. When we went to the police with the material, they were just in awe.

Donnie Rudd and Dianne Marks, Cindy’s mother [Investigation Discovery]

What is it about Donnie that seems to have allowed him to get away with so much?

He’s just a magnetic force. He is very good at manipulating people. He’s very convincing. So he could just always move on. He always found women — smart women. He lies and speaks with total confidence.

Your book, Living With the Devil, is ultimately a story of triumph because — despite Donnie — you and Lori have turned out to have wonderful lives. What are your thoughts on that?

It’s not all good. We have overcome so much, but it changed us. There are questions — “What would life be like if this never happened? Would my mom be alive? Would Lori be an attorney? Would I be a CPA?”

Through the years, though, Lori and I developed this incredible sibling bond. When it came time to write the book, it wasn’t easy for me. Lori had already written a book about my mom that didn’t focus on Donnie. It was painful, but once we got going, the book became my obsession.

I’ve learned from the experience. But I still struggle. I’m always trying to fix things — my friends, my family, everyone. Because I grew up trying to fix my mom.

Obviously, we all hope justice is going to be served. But do you think, at long last, these charges could be the undoing of Donnie Rudd?

I don’t know the evidence they have, and I don’t know all the details of the case against him, but Lisa Madigan is a phenomenal state’s attorney.

Donnie is incapable of telling the truth. And I just want the truth to come out. You talk about justice — I just want the truth.

Watch Investigation Discovery’s Who Is Donnie Rudd? Keith Morrison Investigates on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Donnie Rudd with Cindy Hart and Lori Hart [Investigation Discovery]

The post Interview: Cindy Hart, Stepdaughter Of Accused Con Man & Wife-Killer Donnie Rudd appeared first on CrimeFeed.

CLEVELAND, OH — Ashley Summers was only a young teenager when she vanished from her hometown in the summer of 2007. The FBI says the then 14-year-old had had an argument with her mom before storming out of their house in Cleveland, Ohio.

Since then, the search has been on, and neither investigators nor her family have given up the hope of finding Ashley. In fact, the FBI recently plastered billboards up and down the East Coast.

Agents thought she may have been spotted at a Rhode Island ATM in 2015, but it was later revealed that it was not Ashley. The person in the photo appeared on the Rhode Island’s Most Wanted website, and although there were striking similarities, the FBI ruled this lead out. The unknown suspect in the photo was wanted by authorities for alleged theft and using stolen identities.

Reports say investigators also looked into the idea that Ashley could have been connected to the Ariel Castro case. Castro was accused of kidnapping and holding three women hostage inside his Cleveland home for years and years. Castro’s home was in the same neighborhood that Ashley vanished from. But there has never been any evidence to link her to that infamous case either.

The FBI notes that Ashley has a heart tattoo with the name “Gene” in the middle. In addition, she has blue eyes and was last known to have brown hair, although now it could be a different color and either shorter or longer. According to the missing poster, she was born on June 16, 1993.

If you know anything about Ashley’s case, please contact the FBI directly.

If you are in search of a missing person, make sure to enter their information into the database of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

For more on the Ashley Summers case, watch the “Edge of Fourteen” episode of Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared on ID GO now!

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Main photo: From Missing poster [FBI]

The post Disappeared: Ashley Summers Has Been Missing For Over 10 Years appeared first on CrimeFeed.

ASHLAND, OH — Investigators are trying to identify a mystery woman whom they believe was a victim of alleged serial killer Shawn Grate.

Grate, who is currently on trial for the murder of two Ashland, Ohio, women has confessed to killing another woman around the year 2005.

After his 2016 arrest for the murders of Stacy Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith, Grate told investigators he murdered the woman in Marion but cannot remember her name, ABC 6 reported.

As the Shawn Grate trial started today, investigators have new leads in their search to find the identity of the woman he says he killed in Marion… https://t.co/VAbgQOxY7S

— Tom Bosco (@tomwsyx6) April 9, 2018

He said that after killing her, he dumped her body along Victory Road. The woman’s body was discovered in 2007. Since then, investigators have been trying to identify her. Law enforcement has nicknamed the unidentified Jane Doe “Vicky” after the road where she was found.

Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey said that testing commissioned by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has given detectives new clues to work with. Facial reconstruction artist Samantha Molnar, who completed a model of what the woman might look like in 2017, pushed for isotope testing.

This method can reportedly detect regional differences in food and water consumed by the victim. Based on the testing, detectives now believe the unidentified woman may have been from Texas or Florida.

Investigators have reportedly pulled 15 photos from databases of missing women and plan to show them to Grate when his current trial is over.

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Main photo: Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible [NCMEC]

The post 12 People Knew About Rape, Torture Of OK Teens & Stayed Silent For 20 Years appeared first on CrimeFeed.

Authorities announced today that they arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, the man that they believe to be the elusive Golden State Killer (GSK).

“The answer has always been in Sacramento,” Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said of the a suspect in the decades-old GSK case.

“For over 40 years, countless victims have waited for justice,” Schubert said, who said that she learned of the crimes as a 12-year-old living in a town in an era she called “a time of innocence.” Schubert also said that the answer was “always in the DNA.”

She revealed they used the “most innovative DNA technique available” — and said that the big break in the case happened in the last six days. She also pointed out the incredible coincidence that today is what’s known as National DNA Day.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department have arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo Jr believed to be the Golden State Killer https://t.co/rWdwSi0YEl pic.twitter.com/mGduRmIkur

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) April 25, 2018

Sheriff Scott Jones said that investigators had conducted surveillance, “got a feel for his activities, or lack thereof,” and developed a plan to approach DeAngelo when he left his house, due to information they were able to obtain about how he my react if they approached him. While they surveilled, they were able to obtain “discarded DNA” for testing, which enabled them to arrest DeAngelo. “We were able to confirm, what we thought we already knew — that we had our man,” Jones said. Jones reported that DeAngelo seemed very surprised when they arrested him.

Last Wednesday at 8:15 in the evening, Schubert said she received an email from Debbie Domingo, whose mother, Cheri Domingo, was murdered by the Golden State Killer, stating, “This case will be solved because of sheer persistence….Thank you for that persistence.”

“In the last six days, that passion, that persistence, and the knowledge finally came to an answer in this building — our crime lab,” Schubert said.

Katie and Brian Maggiore [FBI]

DeAngelo has been charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances for the rape and murder of Brian and Katie Maggiore in Sacramento in 1978. Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten announced that he has filed capital murder charges against DeAngelo for the killings of Lyman and Charlene Smith, an unsolved case from March 1980. He said that this filing is “just the beginning” in the prosecution of DeAngelo.

In an emotional and poignant segment of the press conference, Bruce Harrington, whose brother, Keith, and sister-in-law, Patrice, were murdered by the Golden State Killer, spoke of his fight to change the California laws on DNA. He has filed petitions asking for a more robust DNA database in the state. Harrington was glad to speak the reassuring words: “Sleep better tonight, he isn’t coming through the window.”

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley reminisced about her time as a volunteer advocate at a rape crisis center in Contra Costa county, when she supported the survivors of the East Area Rapist attacks through their recovery process. She emphasized the importance of solving the problem of the backlog of untested sexual-assault kits. She spoke of the need to get those “kits out of the police evidence room and brought into a crime lab to be tested.”

Sheriff Jones confirmed that DeAngelo was a police officer — he worked for the Exeter Police Department in the Visalia area from 1973 to 1976, while the crimes known as the Visalia Ransackings were going on. After that, he worked for the Auburn Police Department from 1976 through 1979, when he left the department due to a shoplifting charge.

Dive association. Dog repellant. Hammer. And refuses a hearing after shoplifting charge. Just took his punishment and left the force so no one would look deeper. #GoldenStateKiller #michellemcnamara #IllBeGoneInTheDark #stepintothelight pic.twitter.com/TSqmFwtZb9

— Billy Jensen (@Billyjensen) April 25, 2018

The Golden State Killer is believed to have committed at least 12 homicides, over 50 rapes, and more than 100 burglaries.

Before escalating to murder, police believe the Golden State Killer was the same individual known as the East Area Rapist (EAR). The Golden State Killer has also been known as the Diamond Knot Killer and the Original Night Stalker. During today’s press conference, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas also confirmed that DeAngelo is the suspect in what is known as the case of the Visalia Ransacker.

His crimes spanned Northern, Central, and Southern California. According to property records, DeAngelo lives in Citrus Heights, California, near Sacramento. He has lived there for at least two decades, public records show.

One of the most surprising facts that came out of the press conference was District Attorney Schubert’s statement that DeAngelo’s name had never come up as a possible suspect in the past.

The investigation into Joseph James DeAngelo continues. He is being held in Sacramento County Jail, and is ineligible for bail. Sheriff Jones announced that “as we speak, warrants are being served and interviews are being conducted.” In particular, he mentioned that they have been interviewing family members of DeAngelo, to whom his arrest has been “quite a shock.”

Watch the full series of Investigation Discovery’s The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Joseph James DeAngelo [Sacramento Sheriff’s Office]

The post Golden State Killer Press Conference: “Sleep Better Tonight, He Isn’t Coming Through The Window” appeared first on CrimeFeed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On May 1, 2001, federal intern Chandra Levy vanished without a trace. A year later, her bones turned up in a nearby park. The search for her killer has involved a married congressman, police bungling, and a vacated conviction — yet, still, all these years later, the murder of Chandra Levy remains unsolved.

Born in 1977, Chandra Levy grew up in Modesto, California, and earned a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University. Along the way, the dynamically intelligent and ambitious Levy developed an interest in politics.

While earning a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Southern California, Levy successfully interned for the California Bureau of Secondary Education and took a job in the office of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan

For her last semester at USC grad school, the 24-year-old Levy interned at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C. While there, she made numerous personal and professional connections, one of which would go on to generate sordid headlines and ultimately cloud her own murder investigation — profoundly.

On May 6, 2001, Chandra Levy’s parents contacted authorities. They hadn’t heard from her in five days and no one knew where she was. She was expected home for her USC graduation on May 11.

Police checked on Levy’s apartment but found no signs of foul play. Her ID, credit cards, and cellphone were all there. Only her keys and a ring didn’t turn up.

Officers did notice, however that Levy’s answering machine was fully loaded with messages from concerned relatives and friends — as well as two left by U.S. Representative Gary Condit, a Democrat from the California district where the Levy family lived.

The next day, Levy’s father told the cops that her daughter had been having an affair with Condit. Chandra’s aunt backed up the story as well, and added that, during their last conversation, Chandra said she’d soon have “big news” to share with everyone.

Condit himself — a married man 30 years Chandra’s senior — immediately denied any such involvement.

Authorities have always tried to make clear that Condit was never a suspect in Levy’s disappearance. Regardless, a media circus cropped up around the congressman, with much gossipy public speculation wondering if Levy’s supposed “big news” might be that she was pregnant with Condit’s child (no evidence has ever suggested that was true).

From the get-go, though, Condit appeared to dodge questions and he refused to take a polygraph test. In the glare of the spotlight, the “pro-family” politician seemed to do little to dispel the perception that he might know more than he’d been letting on.

In July 2001, CNN reported that anonymous “police sources” said Condit admitted the affair to investigators. He made no public statement.

The following month on ABC, interviewer Connie Chung asked Condit if he’d been sexually involved with Levy and he replied:

“I’ve been married for 34 years. I’ve not been a perfect man, and I’ve made my share of mistakes. But, out of respect for my family, and out of a specific request from the Levy family, I think it’s best that I not get into those details about Chandra Levy.”

He also added, “I only knew Chandra Levy for five months, and in that five months’ period, we never had a discussion about a future, about children, about marriage.”

Aside from Condit, several serious police missteps also slowed down the investigation. First, officers searching Levy’s apartment accidentally deleted the search history on her laptop. Restorative technology being what it was in 2001, it took a month to recover the information.

Once police had the history, they determined Levy may have gone to Rock Creek Park the night she vanished. Officers immediately left for the large and popular park with orders to scour “all roads and trails” within 100 yards. However, a miscommunication prompted responders to look only on the roads.

On May 22, 2002 — a full year after Chandra Levy went missing — a dog-walker stumbled onto Levy’s skeletal remains on a trail in Rock Creek Park.

Following an examination of the bones, D.C. Medical Examiner Jonathan L. Arden officially declared Levy’s death a homicide on May 28, but noted:

“There’s less to work with here than I would like. It’s possible we will never know specifically how she died.”

Worse still, two weeks later, a private investigator hired by the Levys discovered a shinbone twisted up in wire that the cops had missed. The quest for answers just kept getting more muddled.

In September 2002, a police informant said that Ingmar Guandique, a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, had been bragging in jail that Gary Condit paid him $25,000 to murder Levy. At the time, Guandique was locked up for assaulting two other women in Rock Creek Park at knifepoint in July 2001. Could this have been a break at last?

Guandique denied ever making such claims, but police noted that he hadn’t shown up for work the night Levy vanished, and his landlady said he was covered in scratches and bruises the next day. He also failed one polygraph test, but the next one was ruled “not deceptive.” Still, no physical evidence linked Guandique to this crime and everything else seemed to be hearsay.

In 2002, Guandique got 10 years for the two other attacks, while repeating over and over that he had nothing to do with Chandra Levy.

From there, the Chandra Levy case remained cold until a new detective team took over in 2007. The cops focused anew on Guandique and, finally, in 2009, police charged him with Levy’s murder.

Authorities built the case against Guandique based largely on the testimony of his cellmate, Armando Morales. According to transcripts, Morales told them:

“[Guandique] said he hid up in the bushes. He ran up behind her, grabbed her from behind … by the neck. He dragged her into the bushes. He said by the time he got her to the bushes that she had stopped struggling … He said he never meant to kill her.”

The prosecutors claimed that Guandique bound and gagged Levy, robbed her, and then left her to die from dehydration and exposure. The jury bought it and found Guandique guilty of first-degree murder on November 22, 2010. The judge gave him 60 years.

For most observers, Guandique’s conviction seemed to close the books on the mystery of Chandra Levy. Five years later, though, everything burst open all over again.

In 2015, Guandique was granted a new trial, due largely to the emergence of an audio recording of Armando Morales, the prosecution’s star witness, talking about how he’d lied on the stand during the first hearing.

Further raising doubts was the revelation that, on 4:37 A.M. the day Levy vanished, one of her neighbors called 911 to report hearing a “blood-curdling scream” coming from inside Chandra’s apartment.

Authorities scheduled Guandique’s new hearing for 2016. Before it could happen, though, the state dismissed all charges against Guandique with prejudice (meaning he could possibly face them again), opting instead to deport him back to El Salvador after he finished his initial 10-year jail term.

Guandique fought the decision, but in 2017, the government returned him to his native country. He maintains his innocence.

Gary Condit never faced charges regarding Chandra Levy and he’s never publicly confessed to an affair with her. He lost his re-election bid and subsequently went into real estate. Condit also opened two Baskin-Robbins franchises, which have since closed.

Chandra Levy’s case, as of right now, remains unsolved. She has received no justice and her loved ones have no definitive answers. They, like the rest of us, can only keep wondering.

Watch Investigation Discovery’s three-part series Chandra Levy: An American Murder Mystery on ID GO now!

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Main photo: Chandra Levy [Wikipedia]

The post Who Killed Chandra Levy? Why The DC Intern’s Case Remains Open — & Troubling appeared first on CrimeFeed.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — On November 20, 2012, Dashad “Sage” Smith, 19, left home in Charlottesville and walked down Main Street to meet a friend. But Smith never came home — and seemed to vanish into thin air from the busy street.

The case is documented in a new episode of the Investigation Discovery series “Disappeared” entitled “Born This Way.“

Sage Smith [Investigation Discovery]

Shortly before disappearing, Smith changed gender on Facebook, selecting “female,” and wrote: “I am a girl now #Respect it.”

Friends and family say that Smith, who was gay, had recently began openly identifying as a woman and was using the name “Sage” instead of Dashad. But family members also state that Smith was gender fluid and did not identify as binary one way or the other, and many family members still refer to Smith using the pronoun “he.”

Police believe that Smith was en route to meet a man named Erik McFadden.

Police have released a partial timeline of the case: Detectives say that they believe Smith left home to meet McFadden at the Amtrak Train Station at about 5:40 P.M. on November 20.

One of Smith’s roommates, Aubrey Carson, woke up from a nap around this time and remembers Smith saying that she was on her way to meet a date.

Smith and McFadden also reportedly exchanged several text messages. According to police, McFadden indicated that he was at the Hampton Inn at 5:20 P.M.

After Smith left her home, McFadden sent several text messages to Smith asking for an update on location. Smith was talking on a phone to a friend during this time, so it is unknown whether the texts were read.

At 6:27 P.M., another message was sent from McFaddens’ phone: “Bye u stood me up smh.”

At around 6:35 P.M., a witness saw Smith walking on 4th Street. Other witnesses spoke to Smith at a bus stop on West Main Street — and said that Smith was headed to the Amtrak Station to meet someone.

Sage with Miss Cookie [Investigation Discovery]

The last known activity on Smith’s phone was a 6:36 P.M. call from a number later linked to McFadden. After that, all phone activity stopped.

What happened next is unclear. Police have noted that no one actually saw Smith at the train station — but McFadden indicated to his girlfriend later in an email later that the meeting did happen. He reportedly claimed that he had been scared off by a group of approaching people that saw them together, and he just kept walking.

A few days after Smith’s disappearance, McFadden vanished as well.

Shakira Washington [Investigation Discovery]

Smith was raised by his paternal grandmother, Lolita “Cookie” Smith, who friends called “Miss Cookie.” After graduating from high school, Smith moved into an apartment with two roommates.

But after transitioning, despite the support of family and friends, Smith’s life was not without conflict. Smith occasionally placed Casual Encounters ads on Craigslist, which police believe is how she made contact with Erik McFadden.

When Smith failed to come home on November 20, Carson was immediately alarmed.

Friends and family pointed out that it was extremely out of character for Sage’s phone to go to voicemail since she always had it with her — and always made a point of having it charged.

“Sage’s cell phone was glued to her ear,” her grandmother said. “I began to get anxious and get a little bit afraid.” She told Carson to call the police — and Smith was officially reported missing on November 21.

Image from Sage’s missing poster [Investigation Discovery]

Detectives began investigating on November 22, Thanksgiving Day. Police checked surveillance footage, pulled Smith’s cell phone records, and did a grid search. They found no trace of the 19-year-old.

Smith’s family and friends began their own investigation. Sage’s father, Dean Smith, was able to confirm McFadden’s identity after posting the unknown number on Sage’s phone on Facebook.

A friend told Dean that McFadden had been dating Sage — but that McFadden, who lived with his girlfriend, was not out of the closet.

McFadden left town a few days after Smith’s disappearance. On November 24, McFadden’s girlfriend, Esther Ayeni, actually called the police to report her boyfriend missing.

Police said that they considered McFadden a person of interest — but authorities were unsure whether he fled because he felt he had been “outed” online, or because he was involved in Smith’s disappearance.

On November 27, McFadden contacted police to say that he was in New York, and that his trip had no connection with Smith’s disappearance. When asked why he’d fled to the Big Apple, McFadden replied, “Because I’ve never been to New York before.”

McFadden did admit to a sexual relationship with Sage. But he insisted that Smith never showed up on the night in question. McFadden also told police that he would return to Charlottesville to talk to them, but he never showed up as planned.

Police encountered another twist in the case when they got a hit that Smith’s credit card had been used on December 12. But when they checked surveillance footage, they were shocked to see that it was Aubrey Carson, not Smith, using the card. But Carson claimed that they often shared each other’s cards to buy food.

Investigators stated in November 2015 that, partly due to their investigation into McFadden’s digital footprint, they no longer believed McFadden was involved.

In January of 2016, a third roommate who lived with Aubrey Carson and Smith said that Carson began to borrow Smith’s belongings. Another witness claimed to have seen Aubrey, Smith, and McFadden together in a club just a few nights before Smith went missing.

Carson insisted that she has told investigators everything she knows.

In December of 2016, authorities reclassified the case as a homicide. “What prompted the reclassification was the totality of the investigation up to this point, and the fact Dashad Smith has not been heard from since he was reported missing in November 2012,” Steve Upman of the Charlottesville Police said.

Detectives are also determined to get answers from McFadden — and anyone else with information.

“Someone somewhere at some point in time saw Dashad that afternoon. Maybe they saw him walking up the street alone. Maybe they saw him walking with someone else. Maybe they saw him get into a car, or go into a building. That’s the person we need to hear from,” said CPD Chief Tim Longo.

Sage’s family members posted a response on the Charlottesville LGBTQ and Allies Facebook group calling Longo out for “misgendering” Sage.

It read: “HER NAME IS SAGE SMITH. The constant and insistent deadnaming and misgendering of Sage will not be tolerated. These anti-trans practices by both the local media and the local police department are at the heart of the racism and transphobia which result in alarming rates of both suicides amongst transgender youth and murders of trans women of color.”

“There’s a bigger issue there,” Lieutenant James Mooney, the detective who’s stayed with the case the longest, told Splinter News. “Only a very small fraction of our community has taken interest in Sage.”

The Charlottesville Police Department has asked that anyone with information on this case call Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000.

A reward of $20,000 has been offered.

For more on Sage Smith, watch the “Born This Way” episode of Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared on ID GO now!

If you are in search of a missing person, make sure to enter their information into the database of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

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Main photo: Sage Smith [Investigation Discovery]

The post “Disappeared”: Virginia Trans Teen Sage Smith Vanished Without A Trace appeared first on CrimeFeed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Police are working to identify the three sets of adult female skeletal remains they found buried under an apartment building in Washington, D.C.

A construction crew found the first human skull on Wednesday in a crawl space beneath the building inside 113 Wayne Place SE.

Then, after bringing in cadaver dogs to search the property, police announced on Saturday that they had discovered the remains of two additional women in a shallow grave in a wooded area behind the same apartment building.

The women have been buried behind the apartment for at least one year, Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr., the city’s chief medical examiner, said at a press conference on Tuesday. Mitchell also said that the bodies were commingled in the grave. No personal effects or clothing were found with the bones.

Investigators will now likely use DNA evidence from the women in order to attempt to find possible family members, Mitchell said. Police are also looking through active missing persons cases to see if they can identify potential matches.

Homicide detectives are actively investigating the case. “It’s an undetermined death at this point, but circumstances certainly rise to the level of suspicious, so our homicide unit is involved,” Washington D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said.

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Interview: Cold Case Expert Paul Holes On Hunting “The Golden State Killer”

“The Golden State Killer Murdered My Mom”: A Daughter’s Quest For Justice

LISK Case: Judge Orders Police To Produce Shannan Gilbert’s 911 Recording

Mystery: Was David Berkowitz, The “Son of Sam,” Also The “Westchester Dartman”?

New Lead In 1995 Cold Case Disappearance Of Iowa News Anchor

Skeletal Remains Found In Basement Could Solve Mystery Of Long Island Woman Missing Since 1966

Interview: Cindy Hart, Stepdaughter Of Accused Con Man & Wife-Killer Donnie Rudd

Disappeared: Ashley Summers Has Been Missing For Over 10 Years

Can You Identify This Woman, A Victim Of Suspected Serial Killer Shawn Grate?

Disappeared: Amy Bradley Vanished From A Cruise Ship 20 Years Ago

12 People Knew About Rape, Torture Of OK Teens & Stayed Silent For 20 Years

Golden State Killer Press Conference: “Sleep Better Tonight, He Isn’t Coming Through The Window”

Who Killed Chandra Levy? Why The DC Intern’s Case Remains Open — & Troubling

“Disappeared”: Virginia Trans Teen Sage Smith Vanished Without A Trace

3 Female Skeletons Unearthed By Construction Crew At Washington D.C. Apartment Building

11 Years Later, What’s Happening In The Madeleine McCann Investigation?

Lawyer Says No Penis Pics Of Golden State Killer Suspect Joseph DeAngelo, Said To Be “Not Well Endowed”

“I Called Him ‘Mr. Happy'”: Cafe Owner Says Joseph DeAngelo Was A Regular Customer