who killed theresa?

Is anyone surprised by this news?  No. Because we still have a police culture so set in its ways that they’d prefer to rely on memory, scratch pads and file boxes to solve problems when more than adequate tools are practically begging for utilization. Tools that could save lives:

PC News by David Murphy

MINNEAPOLIS – A new online database promises to crack some of the nation’s 100,000 missing persons cases and provide answers to desperate families, but only a fraction of law enforcement agencies are using it.

The clearinghouse, dubbed NamUs (Name Us), offers a quick way to check whether a missing loved one might be among the 40,000 sets of unidentified remains that languish at any given time with medical examiners across the country. NamUs is free, yet many law enforcement agencies still aren’t aware of it, and others aren’t convinced they should use their limited staff resources to participate.

Janice Smolinski hopes that changes — and soon. Her son, Billy, was 31 when he vanished five years ago. The Cheshire, Conn., woman fears he was murdered, his body hidden away.

She’s now championing a bill in Congress, named “Billy’s Law” after her son, that would set aside more funding and make other changes to encourage wider use of NamUs. Only about 1,100 of the nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide are registered to use the system, even though it already has been hailed for solving 16 cases since it became fully operational last year.

“As these cases become more well known, as people learn about the successes of NamUs, more and more agencies are going to want to be part of it,” said Kristina Rose, acting director of the National Institute of Justice at the Justice Department.

Before NamUs, families and investigators had to go through the slow process of checking with medical examiner’s offices one by one. As the Smolinski family searched for clues to Billy’s fate, they met a maze of federal, state and nonprofit missing person databases that weren’t completely public and didn’t share information well with each other.

NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, allows one-stop sleuthing for amateurs, families and police. Anyone can enter all the data they have on a missing person, including descriptions, photos, fingerprints, dental records and DNA. Medical examiners can enter the same data on unidentified bodies, and anyone can search the database for potential matches that warrant further investigation.

So far, about 6,200 sets of remains and nearly 2,800 missing people have been entered, said Kevin Lothridge, CEO of the National Forensic Science Technology Center in Largo, Fla., which runs NamUs for the Justice Department.

Detective Jim Shields of the Omaha, Neb., Police Department hadn’t heard about NamUs until he saw a presentation at a conference in 2008. He then had a local volunteer associated with NamUs input his data on several missing people.

Among them was Luis Fernandez, who had been missing for nearly a year before his family went to police in 2008. Shields didn’t have a lot on Fernandez, a known gang member who’d been in and out of jail — only gender, race, height, weight, age and some data on his tattoos.

It proved to be enough. Just a few weeks later, similarities were spotted with the unidentified remains of a homicide victim found in a farm field in Iowa in 2007. In January, a lab informed Shields it had a DNA match — and that he could break the news to Fernandez’ family.

“I could say fairly certainly that this would never have been solved if not for NamUs,” Shields said.

Some other recent successes:

• Paula Beverly Davis, of the Kansas City, Mo., area, had been missing for 22 years until a relative saw a public service announcement on TV in October for NamUs and told her sister, who gave it a try. Among the 10 matches her sister found were a body dumped in Ohio in 1987 that had the same rose and unicorn tattoos as her sister. DNA tests confirmed the body was Davis.

• Sonia Lente disappeared in 2002. Last June, an amateur cybersleuth with the Doe Network, a nationwide volunteer group that helps law enforcement solve cold cases, noticed similarities between Lente’s description in NamUs and an unidentified body found near Albuquerque, N.M., in 2004. Dental records later established it was Lente.

Detective Stuart Somershoe of the Phoenix Police Department said his agency, which has over 500 open missing persons cases, just finished entering 100 cases into NamUs. He’s hopeful his department can make a match.

“It’s kind of time-consuming but I think it’s a worthwhile program,” Somershoe said.

NamUs grew out of a Justice Department task force working on the challenge of solving missing persons cases. One need that the task force identified was to give people who could help solve cases better access to database information.

“Billy’s Law” sailed through the House late last month and is pending in the Senate, where supporters are confident it will easily pass.

The bill would authorize $10 million in grants annually that police, sheriffs, medical examiners and coroners could use to train people to use NamUs and to help cover the costs of entering data into the system. It would also authorize another $2.4 million a year to run the system and ensure permanent funding.

The bill would also link NamUs with a major FBI crime database that’s now available only to law enforcement, partly because it contains sensitive information about ongoing investigations. That confidential data would be withheld from NamUs when necessary.

Billy Smolinski, of Waterbury, Conn., was last seen Aug. 24, 2004, when he asked a neighbor to look after his dog. His pickup truck was later found outside his home, though not where he usually parked it. His wallet and other belongings were still inside.

The Smolinski family first struggled to get police to take a missing adult case seriously. It took a long time for investigators to finally conclude Billy had been killed, perhaps as a result of a love triangle gone sour. The family put up reward posters, searched places where they thought his body might have been hidden and kept pressure on police.

Smolinski said she came to see how police were often overwhelmed, but to her NamUs is a “no-brainer.”

“If they find remains I’m hopeful they’ll identify him through NamUs,” Smolinski said.

On the Net:

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System: http://www.namus.gov

Police have a suspect in the case of Louise Chaput, the Sherbrooke social worker who disappeared and was found murdered in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 2001. NH police aren’t saying much other than that the suspect is male and lived in the NH region at that time.

There is DNA evidence from the crime scene that could link the suspect.

- TVA film footage here.

- Details on Chaput from the NH cold case website here.

She looks crazy as a box of Cocoa Puffs: There I said it.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The neurobiologist accused of killing three colleagues at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, on Friday fatally shot her brother in 1986 in suburban Boston, and the police there are now questioning whether their department mishandled that case when it let her go without filing charges.

Early Saturday, the police in Huntsville charged the neurobiologist, Amy Bishop, who they said was 45, with capital murder in the shootings Friday that also left three people wounded during a faculty meeting. Dr. Bishop, who appeared to have had a promising future in the biotechnology business, had recently been told she would not be granted tenure, university officials said.

Holy Crap!:

(CNN) — The biology professor charged in the shooting deaths Friday of three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville fatally shot her brother more than 23 years ago, police said Saturday.

Amy Bishop Anderson, who was then known as Amy Bishop, was never charged in her brother’s death, Braintree, Massachusetts, Police Chief Paul Frazier told reporters. Police records detailing the 1986 incident are missing, and a log of the incident lists it as an accidental shooting, he said.

An officer involved in the case told him that Anderson shot her brother after an argument, Frazier said.

Anderson, a Harvard-educated professor, has been charged with capital murder.

Huntsville Police Chief Henry Reyes said Anderson, 45, was attending a faculty meeting on the third floor of the sciences building Friday afternoon when she shot six colleagues, killing three.

Anderson, a professor and researcher at the university, was arrested as she was leaving the building, Reyes told reporters Saturday. He said a 9 mm handgun was recovered from the second floor of the building late Friday.

Anderson is charged with one count of capital murder, a crime that involved two or more intentional deaths and is eligible for the death penalty in Alabama. Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard said officials were considering other charges, including attempted murder

Video: At least three dead in shooting

University spokesman Ray Garner has identified the dead as Gopi Podila, chairman of the biological sciences department; Maria Davis, associate professor of biology; and Adriel Johnson, associate professor of biology.

The injured were Joseph Leahy, associate professor of biology, in critical condition; Luis Cruz-Vera, assistant professor of biology, in stable condition; and Stephanie Monticello, staff assistant, also in stable condition. They were taken to Huntsville Hospital.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of other suspects in connection with the shooting.

Investigators have interviewed Anderson’s husband, Jim.

Anderson had been working at the university since 2003 and was up for tenure, Garner said. However, authorities wouldn’t discuss possible motives or whether the issue of tenure may have played a role in the shooting.

Garner said the meeting at Shelby Hall was for faculty and staff in the sciences department, but he gave no other details.

The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), and residence halls were locked down 10 minutes later. An alert notifying the campus about the incident was issued at 4:42 p.m. CT.

Pressed on the amount of time that passed before a campus alert was sent notifying students and faculty about the shooting and the lockdown, university police Chief Chuck Gailes said the lag “didn’t impact the safety of people on campus and in the building.”

He said there is no specific timeframe that dictates how quickly such an alert is issued, but he said it would be an issue officials will look into.

University President David Williams said there would be a prayer service Sunday.

“We are a resilient community, and we know we will come together to overcome these difficult times,” he said.

Williams said the campus would open for employees next week but there would be no classes.

Kourtney Lattimore, a 19-year-old sophomore studying nursing, was one of about 100 students who attended the suspect’s anatomy class from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. Friday., when the subject included neurons.

“Nothing seemed to be off at all,” she said about her teacher, who wore a pink sweater in class. “We were all shocked, like, all of us just couldn’t believe it.”

Lattimore said her anatomy class was not the only one affected by Friday’s events. Leahy — who was wounded in the shooting — taught her infection and immunity class, she said.

Reached at the couple’s home, Jim Anderson told CNN that his wife has an attorney whom he would not identify. He described his wife as a good teacher.

A flurry of activity in the media this morning over Russell Williams:

1. Never shy of  staying in the gutter, The Toronto Sun is reporting that Williams and Paul Bernardo were college “Pals”.
2. Also in the Sun;  the accused murderer is on suicide watch at the Quinte Detention Center just outside of Trenton, Ontario.
3. The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Williams cut ties with his family in 2001 and hasn’t spoken to his mother or brother in nearly 10 years.
4. While the Edmonton Journal gives us the astounding revelation that “serial killers lead double lives”. Don’t know what tenured professor dabbling in behavioral science is responsible for that chestnut… Woops, it’s Elliot Layton, apparently an expert. Well, he dropped a turd this time.
5. Macleans, Canada’s national weekly magazine offers, Russell Williams: The Man No One New. Rather short, bland and boring for a blog post. (don’t they have the resources to do something splashy, or at least insightful?)
6. In between the soft rock and  oldies, Mix 97 is weighing in that Williams may be looked at for an unsolved London, Ontario murder. (Maaaa… it’s always like this. They get a good suspect and every force tries to pin every major unsolved crime from the last twenty years on them (see Claude Larouche). Hey law enforcement! Here’s a tip, try solving your crimes with good old fashion police work)

That’s it, I’m out a here, gotta go to work folks!

Quite a good article in the Gazette on the latest in the Russell Williams affair:

A summary:

• There are reports of Trenton locals harrassing and spitting at AFB personnel.
• Williams requested the services of a prison chaplain at the  Quinte Detention Centre where he is being held.
• At this point Halifax police are denying any link between Williams and their cold cases, but only because there hasn’t been time to test any evidence.
• Williams is still being considered in the murder case of Trenton native Kathleen MacVicar, 19.
• Toronto police are probing Williams in the cases of  Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice who were sexually assaulted and murdered within four months of each another in downtown Toronto. DNA evidence revealed that both women had been killed by the same man.

I understand Natynczyk’s rationale for standing behind the Canadian military in what must be a very difficult time for all Air Force members at CFB Trenton, and the entire Trenton community. The arrest of Col. Russell Williams is shocking, a blow to military pride; and I am sure many in the community are questioning their confidence, and doing a great deal of soul searching.

However I am more inclined to take a “what and see” approach to this affair. I find it difficult to accept that Williams walked about unnoticed in the Forces’ community. Surely there must have been warning signs, as there were with Major Nidal Hasan and the U.S. Military base massacre at Fort Hood. Military culture is not the most forthcoming environment, and “don’t ask don’t tell” extends far beyond gender issues. In the coming days I am sure law enforcement and the media will be getting to the bottom of just how much was known about Col. Williams’ proclivities.

Excellent piece in the Globe and Mail by Christie Blachford:

“Russell Williams has given police a lengthy and wide-ranging statement about four dozen so-called “lingerie break-ins,” two home invasions that turned into bizarre sexual assaults last September, and the murders of two young women, one a military steward with whom he may have flown.

Several sources have also told The Globe and Mail that the 46-year-old commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton took detectives to the body of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old who suddenly disappeared on Jan. 29 after texting a friend she had safely arrived home.

The Globe has also learned that while Col. Williams was in countless photographs in the base newspaper, The Contact, since taking over the job last summer – there is hardly an issue without at least several pictures of the lantern-jawed veteran – more ominously, he was also an avid amateur photographer.

Sources say that he photographed the murders and sexual attacks. His computer, once examined by forensic specialists, is expected to yield what one source called “a treasure trove” of evidence.

After Sunday’s extraordinary interview with officers from the OPP’s criminal behavioural analysis section, Col. Williams was formally charged with two murders – Ms. Lloyd’s and the Nov. 25 slaying of Corporal Marie-France Comeau – and the two unusual sexual assaults in nearby Tweed, Ont., last fall.

The key officer in the room was Detective-Sergeant Jim Smith, who last year had obtained a statement in the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Tori Stafford of Woodstock, Ont., last summer.

According to those close to the investigation, Col. Williams’ statement was delivered in a crisp, almost business-like fashion, less out of contrition, it appeared, than out of a sense of duty ingrained during a 22-year military career.

Because of his seeming frankness and willingness to talk to investigators, while police are checking into other unsolved cases at bases where Col. Williams was previously posted, he isn’t considered a suspect in any of those.

Yet all the while he was allegedly and abruptly acting out his fantasies, Col. Williams was also filling his calendar with the busy quasi-social whirl of a base commander, a role with a huge grip-and-grin component.

Between the Nov. 25 slaying last year of Corp. Comeau and the disappearance of Ms. Lloyd late last month, for instance, Col. Williams was cheerfully posing with a variety of visiting base guests, among them Santa Claus and former Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier, then on his book tour; taking part in myriad events, including a “jail and bail” charity fundraiser in which he was photographed being arrested and put behind fake bars for “being too young to be a Wing Commander,” kicking off a curling bonspiel, and writing a year-end letter to the men and women under his command.

Ms. Lloyd was abducted from her house, the tire tracks left behind in the snow the first link police ever had – though they didn’t know it at first – to the eminently respectable base commander.

Last Thursday, police set up a version of the familiar RIDE spot check, a sort of mobile version of a door-to-door search, along rural Highway 37, which runs north from Highway 401 at Belleville to the municipality of Tweed. They were looking to match the unusual tire treads found outside Ms. Lloyd’s house.

Col. Williams, behind the wheel of his Pathfinder and not the BMW people most often saw him drive, happened to get caught in that roadside check. If it was the first indication he could have been involved, it was not the last.

The 37-year-old Corp. Comeau had been under his command; Ms. Lloyd lived just off Highway 37 close to Belleville, and the two women who were sexually assaulted in September lived on the street in Tweed, Cozy Cove Lane, where Col. Williams and his wife, who works in Ottawa and lives there during the week, have a cottage.

Detectives also had descriptions of lingerie and other intimate souvenirs reported missing by the two Tweed women who were assaulted in their homes last fall. Although the victims’ faces were covered, as was their attacker’s, they were able to tell police that they had been “posed” and photographed by their assailant.

Given the sudden escalation in violence between the September break-ins/assaults and the lethal attack upon Corp. Comeau in November, police believed at first they likely were dealing with two different perpetrators.

Corp. Comeau was a steward on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to India in early November. By the time the Prime Minister headed to China the next month, her body had been discovered by her boyfriend in her Brighton, Ont., home.

Given the statistics on domestic murders, suspicion naturally fell upon the boyfriend, at least in the public eye and among the air crew who were on the PM’s flight to China, but a search of his home quashed that, sources told The Globe, and he was quickly cleared by police.

It is the dichotomy between the commander’s accomplished life and the allegations against him now which has left those who knew or worked for him reeling. He is described by subordinates as both friendly and thoroughly professional.

Although the job of commander kept Col. Williams so busy he was often the last to leave the office, he also continued to fly the CC150 Airbuses that are flown by 437 Squadron, Corp. Comeau’s squadron, to keep his pilot status current.”

The Vancouver Sun has posted the Canadian Department of National Defense’s profile of Russ Williams (after the agency took it down):

So let’s see:

1.   He was stationed at Trenton Air Force base (where I was born)

2.   He graduated from the University of Toronto circa 1986 (when I attended U of T)

3.   1990: Stationed at 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba (“any cold cases there?” have a look at Glenda Morrisseau:)

4.   1992: Stationed at Shearwater Canadian Forces Base in Halifax (“calling all cold cases!” check Carla Gail Strickland, Andrea Lynn King, Shelley Conners, and  Kimber Lucas:)

5.  Late 1990s: Posted to 412 (Transport) Squadron in Ottawa (gotta be some unsolveds there)

6.   2004: obtains Masters from Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario (prison capital of Canada)

7.  2004:  437 (Transport) Squadron, Trenton, Ontario

8.  2005 – 2006: Camp Mirage,  Middle East

9.  2009: 6 months French language training, Gatineau, Quebec

And those are just the highlights. This guy has been everywhere, and as a military officer has had privileged access to virtually anywhere.