RICHARD FINNEY 1986 MURDER: COPS APPEAL FOR HELP

FINNEY

HIS stabbing was so vicious that the knife used had been bent to a 90-degree-angle, but despite cops spending thousands of hours trying to solve the murder, his killer remains at large.
So after trying everything including extensive DNA testing, cops are appealing for the public's help to bring Richard Finney's killer to justice.
The 75-year-old traveling salesman was found in Escondido, CO, apartment on November 13, 1986, and the killer, who entered through an unlocked front door, stole cash, a Masonic ring and toiletries.  
Chuck Gaylor, a cold case homicide investigator and retired Escondido detective sergeant said they'd hoped the murderer's bloody palm print on a wall would lead them to him.
But to no avail.
He said: “We are hoping someone will come forward with a name, a suspect. In four years of reworking this case, we’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of hours trying to figure out who murdered Richard Finney.
“It’s a detective’s dream with the palm print evidence with a DNA profile of the victim and the suspect. But it’s a nightmare because we don’t have a name. That’s why we need the public’s help.”
Finney’s daughter, Bea Turi, said she is grateful for the “diligent” efforts by police.
The 72 told the San Diego Union Tribune that her brother died without knowing what happened to their father, “and that bothered him to the end, and I hope it doesn’t happen to me, too.”
Turi said her father’s violent death is especially disturbing for her because he was charming and outgoing with strangers.
Through Crime Stoppers, police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to a suspect. Gaylor said he hopes that people come forward and give their name and contact information, but tipsters may remain anonymous. To report information on this case, call Gaylor at (760) 839-4929 or the anonymous tip line at (760) 743-8477, or go to police.escondido.org.

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MELVIN PARKER GUILTY IN 1994 DOROTHY PAIGE SLAY

PARKER

PAIGE

THEY SUSPECTED him at the time, but when Melvin Parker's wife and the chief witness against him went into hiding, the case collapsed.
Fast forward 17-years and cops reopen the case of Dorothy Paige, who in August 1994 was found brutally stabbed and strangled in her Madison, WI, apartment.
And the cold case detectives immediately focus in on Melvin Parker, now 48, who just five years after Paige's murder was jailed on child abuse and burglary convictions.
He had been charged with murder in 1998, but that charge was dismissed after a key witness, Parker's wife Michele went into hiding, claiming that police were bending her story to make it fit their case. 
But it was the discovery that a witness who corroborated Michele Parker had lied to the original case detective, that finally cracked it for them.
So with little choice Parker ended with a no contest plea to first-degree reckless homicide. 
Assistant DA Brian Asmus told The State Journal: "This has been a long time coming for family members of Dorothy Paige, to finally have someone held accountable."
Paige's mother, Doris Koecher did not attend the hearing but said in a victim impact statement written by Amy Olson that Paige's death has been "a living hell" that has left her deeply depressed and withdrawn from the community.
She wrote: "I see no reason to give this person any type of leniency. Doris has expressed to me that if there is a possibility of the death penalty, that would be nice."

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ARREST MADE IN CANDY LADY MARY WRIGHT MURDER

KILLER?

CANDY LADY

SHE was a beloved grandma, known locally as the Candy Lady, because she gave out sweets and treats to the children in her Lubbock, TX neighborhood.
But Mary Wright's delightful tradition came to an end, after cops found her brutally stabbed body on her home. 
Concerned neighbors who had raised the alarm because they hadn't seen her for a few days, were stunned by the news that the popular pensioner had been taken from them.
Former city councilman T. J. Patterson, told KCBD that Davis was well known and thought of adding:
"She wasn't the mayor of Lubbock, she was just Ms. Davis, the candy lady that cared about human beings."
With no immediate leads, even from DNA processing, the case quickly went ice cold. 
A police insider revealed: "It was really frustrating. This was a senseless death of a very popular lady. There was not one person who did not want to see justice for such a heinous crime." 
But in recent months, detectives resubmitted evidence that was recovered at the original scene in hopes that advances in DNA technology would possibly open a new lead in the case.
And the results came back with a match - previously unknown suspect, Clarence Lee Hooker, 46, who was already behind bars on an unrelated charge.
As a result detectives continued the investigation using this new information and eventually were able to submit a murder charge.

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JANE & CATHRYN JOHNSON'S MURDER 'NOT GOING AWAY'

TRAGIC

YOU know what they say about Mounties always getting their man.
Well 15-years have passed but they're still working on the brutal murder of a pregnant mom and her eight-year-old daughter and they've vowed not to stop until they catch their killer.    
Back in September 1996 were Jane Johnson, who was five-months pregnant, and her eight-year-old daughter Cathryn in their Turner Valley, B.C home.
And despite the length of time cops are confident that someone who moved away to Parksville, 150 kilometres northwest of Victoria, is holding the deadly secret which will unlock the case.
Sgt. Patrick Webb told the Calgary Herald: "Investigators firmly believe that there are persons who know the final details which, if they came forward, would be enough to lay a charge and provide some closure to the family and friends of this 15-year-old crime.
"We want them to realize this is not going to go away,"
Firefighters found Jane, 36, who was five months pregnant, and Cathryn dead in their green and white bungalow sitting near the Turner Valley Golf Club.
It was originally thought the mother and daughter had died from smoke inhalation, but an autopsy revealed Jane - a daughter of the Cartwrights, a well-known Alberta ranching family - had been stabbed to death.
Police have never released how the little girl died, nor have they said how or where in the house the fire started, but they did say it was deliberately started. 
Robbery and sex have been ruled out as motives.
Johnson's fiance, Henry Reichert, was also a person of interest during the investigation, although he has never been charged.
A $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer sits untouched.
Cathryn's father Sam Johnson, who is not a suspect, says his daughter would have no doubt carried on as a barrel racer.
He told the paper: "She'd have been 23. I know I'd be going to lots of rodeos. Nobody has forgotten it here. Lots of times, people come up to me and ask if anything is new.
"It reminds me that people are legitimately interested in getting this solved."
With the passing of another anniversary of the killings, Johnson says he's holding out hope.
"I hope the next time we talk, it's to celebrate. We'll see."

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FRANCES MARIE WAITES KILLER GUILTY, 27 YEARS ON

SOLVED

CAUGHT

THE trail of blood told it's own horrifying story.
Frances Marie Waites had been stabbed in her bedroom, before running through the kitchen to lock herself in a back room.
But her killer had followed, smashing his way through  to reach her,
By the time her friend arrived at her Portland, OR home to pick her up for work the next morning, she'd been sexually assaulted and stabbed numerous times.
Her arms and hands had been cut in what police call defensive wounds — signs that she'd fought for her life — and her throat had been slit almost to the bone.
 It was a vicious killing and detectives hit the case hard her killer managed to evade justice for 27-years, until this week when Frederick Alvin Richey agreed to plead for the murder.
At the time they'd gathered evidence, hair found on her body and bodily fluid samples.
They even interviewed Richey after Waites' friend reported seeing a man he didn't know near the house the morning she died and picked him out of a series of mugshots, but he denied ever knowing her. 
Eight months later, he was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the strangulation of a woman in her Northeast Portland home.
A man later told detectives that he'd met Richey in jail and he'd confessed to murdering her in anger after she reneged on a cocaine deal.
Even then, the case languished and was forgotten.
Then in 2008, a retired Portland detective working with the Cold Case Unit started looking into the matter.
By then, advances had been made in DNA technology and he learned that evidence from the Waites case had been properly preserved.
In September 2009, the Oregon State Police crime lab ran DNA from the bodily fluids in the case through a database and Richey was a match.
He was arrested in July 2010.
Wednesday afternoon, the district attorney told the judge that the DNA match was one in a billion. Richey was their man.
Faced with the overwhelming evidence and the possibility of 20-years in jail if he went to trial or plead no contest to murder and hope for less time when he is sentenced in October.
He took the deal.

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DAVID DIXON BUSTED FOR 32-YEAR-OLD MURDER

JUSTICE AT LAST?

HE MUST have thought that after more than three decades they had got away with the vicious murder of security guard Rachel Moncrief.
But now thanks to improvements in DNA technology, cops have arrested David Dixon, now 61, in connection with the 1979 killing which saw her stabbed more than 30 times.
It is the third result for the recently reopened cold case unit at the Santa Clara County district attorney's office who did DNA testing of blood on the victim's clothing and a marijuana cigarette.
The cold case leader Ted Kajani said: "When the lab found that blood stain, obtained a DNA profile, they uploaded it into the system and got a hit."
He added that DNA for both Dixon and the victim was also found on the marijuana cigarette. 
The prosecutor says Dixon's recent stroke will not have any bearing on proceeding with the 32-year-old case.
Deputy DA Angela Bernhard told KTVU: "This is what happens with these older cases is you have older defendants, but we still think it's very important for us to handle this case as we would any other case."
She added that Dixon's DNA was already in a criminal database because felons are required to provide samples, but no one is talking about his past history.
Anyone with information about the Dixon case is asked to call Santa Clara Police Detective Ken Henderson at (408) 615-4812 or Detective Dave Tanquary at (408) 615-4821. 

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SAMUEL EDWARD BAKER BUSTED FOR 1989 MURDER

BUSTED

IT WAS a vicious attack on a defenseless 74-year-old woman, who's body was found repeatedly stabbed on her kitchen floor.  
But now cops have arrested Samuel Edward Baker, 44, for the brutal slaying of Shellie Latham who's murder has been cold for more than two decades.
Cops say he was one of the original suspects for the attack but back then investigators didn't have enough evidence to charge him with the crime and the case went cold. 
Then in 2009, Detective Patrick Mullins re-opened the case and after reviewing some scientific evidence, he was confident that Baker committed the heinous crime.
But tracking down their suspect proved difficult after 22-years and it took cops a long time to locate their prime suspect.   
Sgt. Larry Berg told KXXV: "With the age factor, it's a little more difficult. But with the diligence, persistence and cooperation of multiple agencies, he was taken into custody without incident down in Buda, Texas."
"We take great pleasure in that we're able to tie up the loose ends and hopefully see justice done."
He added that authorities have yet to release any names, although police did say they've contacted Latham's family members, finally giving them closure.

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