Two Cold Cases In The News

 

Advances in DNA technology have led to breakthroughs in many serious criminal investigations, but not all such cases are based on new forensic evidence. Claire Tiltman was just four days short of her 16th birthday in January 1993 when she was stabbed to death in a frenzied and apparently motiveless attack at Greenhithe, Kent. Her murder led to a massive investigation, and the identification of a prime suspect. In October 1995, Colin Ash-Smith attacked a young woman named Charlotte Bernard near the alley where Claire was murdered. In 1997, he was given three life sentences for this and two other attacks. Now, after an extensive investigation, it is believed there is sufficient evidence against him to bring a successful prosecution for Claire’s murder. He will appear at Maidstone Magistrates Court from prison by video-link on February 28. There is a dedicated Claire Tiltman website.


Claire Tiltman was stabbed to death in an apparently motiveless attack at Greenhithe, Kent.

On the other side of the Atlantic, a man has been charged with the murder of a woman in September 2001. Joseph Edward Webster was arrested after a tip off from Crime Stoppers. Houston Police said they had new evidence that identifies him as a suspect, although they did not specify what this evidence is. As the victim was sexually assaulted before she was beaten to death, it is quite likely forensic evidence.

While new forensic evidence can lead to convictions in cold case investigations, not all new evidence, forensic or otherwise, results in bringing the bad guys to book. The other side of the coin is the innocence project. One of the major ones is the Idaho Innocence Project which is based at Boise State University. In September 2012, Damon Thibodeaux became the 300th person in the United States to be exonerated by DNA evidence. He spent a decade and a half on death row. The team at Boise have set up a mini-website devoted to these 300 exonerations.

[The above article was first published February 15, 2014. Colin Ash-Smith was convicted of the murder of Claire Tiltman later in the year. In November 2015, his conviction was upheld by the Court Of Appeal. Joseph Edward Webster was also convicted. He too received a life sentence; his conviction was upheld in June 2017.]

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