Not read to much about this but this sounds promising an arrest in the Gilgo Murders will definitely be keeping up on this as it unfolds.
Maddie Clifton was born in Jacksonville Florida in 1990 on the 17th of June she had a sister called Jessie and her parents were Steve and Sheila. on the 3rd of November 1998 she came home at around 4:30 and practices on the piano for a short while and then bounded out of her home calling to her mum that she will be back for dinner. She was seen hitting some golf balls and then spotted heading back home to gather some more golf balls. A neighbour did claim to have seen a boy named Joshua Phillips "creeping up" to her but these are the last sightings.
At 6:20 her mum started to call for her and try to bring her back for dinner but after some searching and asking around she became worried and called 911 at 6:33. She was last seen wearing a red YMCA basketball shirt with maddie and the number 5 on the back of it, blue shorts and black tennis shoes. For the next six days many police and neighbour and other volunteers searched tirelessly joining the search was the boy that lived across the street Joshua Phillips, he was born in March 1984 in Allentown Pensylvania and was later moved to Jacksonville by his parents Steve his father who it was said he was very scared of as he was abusive to Joshua and his mother Melisa his father did not allow anyone over to play while he was out and also was said to have a hatred for girls a contrast to Joshua who was know as quiet and friendly.
On the 10th of November 1998 Maddie's parents were recording a TV interview when across the street Joshua's mum was heading up to her sons room to clean up as she had noticed a smell coming from there, she thought it to come from the birds kept in his room. In the room she noticed a puddle of liquid just below the waterbed and knelt down to take a closer look on doing so she noticed that the side of the bed was taped up and appeared to be broken, she noticed that inside the broken part were what appeared to be socks on feet she realised that it was the body of Maddie and rushed across the street to alert some police that were canvassing the neighbourhood. The police entered Joshua's room and noticed a large amount of air fresheners some rolls of tape, a baseball bat hidden behind the dresser and a leatherman knife. Maddie's body was removed from the bed and it was noted her shirt was pulled up and her underwear was beneath her.
Police headed to Joshua's school and arrested him on bringing him to the station he confessed to murdering Maddie, He claimed that they we playing in the back yard and he accidently hit a ball to hard and it hit Maddie near her left eye she was bleeding and crying loudly so her took her upstairs to his room as time went on and she was still being very loud he became worried that his dad would come home and he would be in a lot of trouble for having Maddie over so he hit her on the head 2/3 times with a bat to make her stop crying. Instead of becoming quiet she started moaning loudly and he took his knife and cut her throat he stuffed her in the bottom of his waterbed but again a short while later noticed that he could hear her breathing again worried his dad, who was home by now, would hear he pulled her back out and stabbed her lungs repeatedly to kill her and stop the noise. He claimed that the clothes got all messed up when he was getting her in and out of the bed. In trial the coroner stated that she was hit on the head 3 times which would have killed her in 30mins but then in a separate attack her windpipe was perforated and she would have bleed out or drowned on the blood from that and then it was another separate attack that 9 stab wounds occurred and that 2 of these 9 stab wounds occurred after her death a detail confused me that it was said she was found gripping a support in the bed frame but if two wounds occurred when she was dead im unsure how she could have then be put back in the bed and then while dead she grabbed part of the framing. Maybe i misread or misunderstood this point but it is stated in more that one article/story about her death.
Joshua was tried as an adult but due to his age could not be given the death penalty his attorney called no witnesses and his case was trying to get him convicted for manslaughter and not murder. The jury deliberated for 2 hours and he was found to be guilty of 1st degree murder and given a life sentence.
Sandra Riley had a troubled early life, she was abandoned by her parents at two months old and was a known child to social services, Macclesfield. In 1973 she gave birth to a girl who she decided to give up for adoption, the next year she gave birth again this time to a boy who mysteriously died shortly after birth which was recorded as a cot death/SIDS.
December 1976 saw the birth of another boy Andrew, with her recent husband Stanley a few days later they rushed him to hospital and he was found to have a skull fracture, authorities thought it was accidental but to be sure he was placed on the at risk register to keep an eye on things for a while.
Three years later Andrew was taken off of the at risk register and a few months later in January 1981 she gave birth again to Christopher another son. Again within a few months he was found dead in his cot for Cot death/SIDS. In march 1983 Riley's 3rd son born just a couple of months before was also found dead, this time though Riley admitted to smothering him with a pillow, when she was being questioned about this she admitted that she also had killed Christopher and she was then convicted to two counts of infanticide but experts concluded that she was not a risk to her other son Andrew on any subsequent children so she was only given a two year probation order.
Her husband allowed her to move back in with them as it was claimed that there were no psychiatric indications that she would harm Andrew, her husband said that this decision haunts him still. April 1985, while still on probation, Riley was left alone to care for Andrew, she took him into the bathroom where he asked 'is it my turn to die, mummy' and as she forced his head under the water he begged 'please don't kill me mum' She was arrested and plead guilty to this murder and an arson charge that occurred a year earlier where she set fire to the family home while her son and a friend were playing. She was committed to Moss Side mental hospital indefinitely.
Louise Porton born in the UK, 1996, Had two children 3 year old Lexi and 17 month old Scarlett and lived in Beechwood Court, Rugby, Warwickshire.
The landlady at the property said to have spent more and more time caring for Louise's children so she could go out socialising. Testifying that Louise would do whatever she could not to spend time with her own children. The children's father was not in their lives and had in fact never met Scarlett, Louise admitted that she found parenting harder than she thought it would be.
January 2018 Lexi was admitted to the hospital multiple times she was taken to the hospital on the 2nd and again of the 4th of January suffering from breathing difficulties, thanks to the work of the paramedics, Lexi was able to be saved Her symptoms suggested deliberate airway obstructions the doctors believing it was caused by a chest infection, all the while Lexi is very ill and in hospital, Louise showed very little care or concern, sending nudes to a photographer from the toilets in the hospital and offering sex in return for money. Just a few days after the last hospital visit Louise once again called 999 stating that her daughter was ill again when asked if the daughter was breathing Louise just said 'no'. When help arrived it seemed that Lexi had been dead for a while before Louise rang 999. Again Louise seemed to not care seemingly unfazed by her daughters death spending the next day swiping through a dating site and messaging men on other sites arranging to meet them and casually mentioning to one that her daughter passed away yesterday while having a casual chat about tattoos. At the funeral parlour two weeks after her daughters death she was heard to be laughing on face time chatting with a man. Only two days after that Louise's other daughter suddenly passed away Louise called 999 telling the operator that her daughter was unwell but that she didn't think it was urgent. Upon arrival the paramedics found the toddler dead and again it seemed she had been dead for a while before calling for help. This death also seemed consistent with deliberate airway obstruction and Louise still seemed very unconcerned by her second daughters death. The doctor could not find a natural reason for withers death and due to this and Louise's demeaner the suspicion fell on Louise, police soon discovered that she had made a string of incriminating internet searches through January seeming to suggest she had killed her children and covered it up. She had searched death, breathing and drowning and researched how long it took for a body to go cold up to the shoulder. After Lexi had been discharged she searched 'can you die if you have your nose blocked and cover mouth with tape?' and other searches about toddlers drowning. She was tried in 2019 and found guilty of both murders she was sentenced to a minimum of 32 years.
Hippolyte Visart de Bocarme a Belgian nobleman who was convicted in 1851 by using forensic medicine of the first recorded murder by nicotine poisoning.
Visart married Lydia Fougnies in 1843 although he owned a castle in Bitremont and being part of a noble family he had constant money worries. Lydia's father left his large estate to her older brother, Gustave. Hippolyte hopped that Gustave would pass quickly to his declining health issues and he and lydia would inherit everything but their hopes were dashed upon hearing that Gustave planned to marry and they realised that the only way they could get their hands on the Fougnies' fortune would be if her brother died before he married.
So on the 20th Nov 1850 they invited Gustave to thier chateau where he later died druinning dinner apparently apoplexy. An examination showed that Gustave was forced to swallow something that was corrosive before dying. Belgian chemist was asked to consult on the case and for the first time Jean Servais Stas was able to deproteinize organic tissue from Gustave's organs he then identified nicotine thus proving that Hippolyte poisoned his brother in law with nicotine extracted for tobacco leaves. A method that is still used to this day. After a three week trial Hippolyte was sentenced to death and was killed by guillotine on 19th July 1851 at Grand-Place in Mons his wife was acquitted.
Sophie Charlotte Elisabeth Weingarten born in Glatz, Prussia, on May 5th, 1760. Her father was the secretary of the Austrian legation, and after he lost his position, she got married 19, to an older counsellor of the supreme court - Theodor Ursinus
They both lived in a town called Stendal up until 1792 and then relocated to Berlin. Then on Sept 11th 1800 just one day after his birthday Ursinus passed away suspicion was on Sophie as she didn't call the doctor and whatever she used to treat him juat made him worse. While they were married, Sophie started an affair with an officer named Rogay which may or may not have been okayed by her husband. Rogay had left Berlin for a while he came back roughly 3 years before her husband died and he him self died which was reported to be from Tuberculosis. Around the death evidence shows Sophie brought some arsenic. January 24th, 1801 her aunt Christine Witte suffered a brief illness and died in Charlottenburg leaving Sophie with a large inheritance again evidence shows she brought arsenic just before this death.
In February 1803 Benjamin Klein who worked for her and had recently been in an argument with her got ill. She gave him an emetic and then soup which only made him feel worse. When she gave him some plums he had them secretly examined by a chemist who found they contained arsenic.
She was arrested for poisoning her husband, whose body was then exhumed but the examiners were unable to confirm whether he was poisoned but everyone still remained suspicious. She was next charged with the murder of her aunt and upon examination there was no doubt that she was killed by arsenic. The trial ended on Sept 12th 1803 she was found guilty and sentenced to life She was allowed to have a certain amount of comforts while in prison, and was even allowed to have parties with outside guests and dress in fine clothing.
In 1989 a popular radio D.J. named Debbie Dicus was killed and rape was attempted but she fought enough that he could not do it. It happened in Virginia at a community garden, where she spent a good amount of time, miday. The police brought in a dog to track using the weapon used which was a garden hoe. The dog then went immediately to the crowd of on-lookers up to a man who had a flannel shirt on over a t-shirt and began barking at him. After being asked to remove his shirt his T-shirt had blood all over it Police did a blood test and it was Debbie's. Murder solved in a couple of hours thanks to the good boy i hope he got all the treats and pets that day!
Seems rare to find any super quick solved crimes so if you know of any others please post and let me know.
On December 17, 2020, Kristofer Erlbacher, Caleb, and another person were hanging out in a bar, having a meal and a few drinks when their night took a dark and scary turn.
Apparently, Erlbacher put some mayo in a meal Solberg was eating. Solberg then became very angry and started to punch Erlbacher, which started a fight between the two of them. Erlbacher left in his truck and drove to a nearby cafe. While driving, he called Solberg's half-brother twice and informed him of what had happened that evening. He also threatened him and Solberg. It is claimed that Erlbacher stated he was going to set the house on fire and shot Solberg with a shotgun he owned on his way out after starting the fire.
Solberg and his half-brother went to the cafe, and reportedly, another fight broke out. After the fight, someone said they heard Erlbacher say, "I'll take care of this," and he got into his truck and slammed into the half-brother's vehicle, then drove off. He drove down the street briefly but saw Solberg outside a bar. He then drove into him and hit him with the truck. Solberg started screaming while Erlbacher drove away but turned back soon after and ran him over a few more times before fleeing or attempting to, but his truck broke down. He called his dad to help, who immediately picked him up and returned him to the crime scene where Erlbacher was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He was found guilty in December 2021 and sentenced to life.
All this over mayo! I mean, yeah, don't mess with my food. It's a shitty thing to do, but this is just so out of proportion. I'm so sorry for the family and hope they are doing as well as they can.
Jean Townsend, born on March 11th, 1933, was the victim of an unsolved murder in Ruislip, England. She was a 21-year-old woman who was murdered in September 1954. Despite an extensive police investigation, the case remained unsolved. It was reopened in 1982 following a few anonymous tips, but no conclusion has been reached so far.
She lived with her parents in Bempton Drive, South Ruislip, and worked in the West End of London. On the evening of September 14th, 1954, she attended a social function in the West End and then took the central line train back. She left the station at 11:45 PM and walked down Victoria Road. The next morning, her body was discovered on waste ground to the north side of Victoria Road, near the Angus Drive junction. St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church now stands there (opened in April 1967).
The autopsy revealed that she had been strangled with her own scarf. Despite several items of clothing being removed, there was no evidence of sexual assault. The coroner expressed surprise during the inquest that, apart from the obvious cause of death, there were no signs of struggle or physical resistance from the victim.
While there were suspicions that her murder might be connected to the nearby American Soldiers who had a base at the South Ruislip Air Station, no concrete evidence was found. Rumour's intensified when a resident living near the crime scene reported hearing a woman cry for help, and two male voices were heard arguing, one of which seemed to have an American accent. Allegedly, the United States Air Force (USAF) was reluctant to cooperate with the Metropolitan Police. Many women came forward to report being approached or accosted by strange men. In response to the murder and the publicity surrounding the assaults, local residents formed patrols to escort women from the station to their homes every night.
Side note: Although it is unfortunate that such circumstances require their existence, it is heart warming to witness how communities come together to support one another in the wake of such horror.
Investigators found some possible connections to a few cases of harassment and attacks on nearby women, including the possibility that the murder of another woman in London around the same time was related. There were suspicions that the Townsend murder was connected to an attack on another woman and the 1957 murder of a young mother. Both of these cases occurred a short distance from where Townsend's body was found. Additionally, in 1971, another murder involving strangulation with a scarf took place very close by. The press at the time highlighted these similarities and attempted to establish a connection.
In 2005, a family friend applied for access to the files under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, but the request was denied, and the files will remain withheld from the public until 2031. Due to this publicity, a new theory emerged mentioning an expatriate Italian nobleman; however, the police stated a lack of evidence and dismissed the idea.
A Pittsburgh woman who went missing more than 30 years ago in a case that stumped authorities who later declared her legally dead has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico.
Patricia Kopta left behind a husband and siblings and meandered through northern Puerto Rico for a while before she was taken as a person "in need" to the adult care home in 1999, according to details announced at a news conference this week in Ross Township, where she once lived.
Kopta, once known as a street preacher in her home town, initially kept her past secret while in Puerto Rico. But she began to divulge details as she suffered progressively from dementia, Ross Township Deputy Police Chief Brian Kohlhepp said.
Kohlhepp said those who knew her in Puerto Rico finally made the connection and contacted Ross Township police, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
Patricia Kopta, a well-known Pittsburgh street preacher known as "The Sparrow," was found alive in Puerto Rico more than three decades after she went missing.
Last year, a social worker at the home alerted authorities back home about the now-83-year-old woman. A DNA test has confirmed her identity, Kohlhepp said.
Her husband, Bob Kopta, and her surviving sister, 78-year-old Gloria Smith. filled in details of Kopta's life at the news conference and in telephone interviews Friday with The Associated Press.
"Shock. I didn't believe it. Total shock," Gloria Smith said of learning the news.
Patricia Kopta had been nicknamed "The Sparrow" because of her slight build, and often frequented parking lots and busy roads in the largely residential community of about 31,000 north of Pittsburgh, where she would caution passersby and motorists about the end of the world. Her family said she suffered from mental health issues and feared being institutionalized, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
"She would always hang out down in Pittsburgh where things were going on. When there was a baseball game going on, when a concert was going on, she would be talking to people," Bob Kopta said about his wife.
But before she began preaching, Kopta was a straight-A student who became a model and dance instructor. After graduating high school, she worked in finance at a Pittsburgh plate glass company and would attend ballroom dancing events weekly, according to her family.
She would vacation often in Puerto Rico with her friends before she got married, Smith recalled.
"She just loved the ocean, the beach, the warm sunshine," Smith told the AP.
Smith said her sister quit her job at the glass company after 10 years because of migraines that doctors blamed on stress. She then got a job as an elevator operator at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
That's when family members noticed a change in her.
"She said something about seeing an angel there," Smith recalled.
Shortly afterward, Kopta began preaching and was briefly institutionalized after doctors diagnosed her with "delusions of grandeur" and said she had signs of schizophrenia. Upon her release, she kept preaching until she vanished in 1992.
"I come home one night, and she's just gone," Bob Kopta told the AP.
They had been married for 20 years.
Kopta, now 86, recalled how they met near a river in Pittsburgh where he had a boat. He gave her and her friends a ride and fell in love. In 1972, they married.
The disappearance stumped authorities and family alike. Police went as far as to consult a psychic, while Kopta recalled his wife once mentioned she would like to go to Puerto Rico because of its balmy weather. So he published ads in Puerto Rican newspapers, but never got a response.
Years went by with no sign of her. He obtained a death declaration about seven years after her disappearance.
"I went through a lot," said Bob Kopta, a retired truck driver. "Every time they'd find a body somewhere (I wondered), 'Is it Patricia? Is it Patricia?'"
Meanwhile, Patricia Kopta apparently was wandering the island's northern towns of Naranjito, Corozal and Toa Alta, located just southwest of the capital of San Juan. When she first was taken in at the adult home, she had hinted that she had arrived in Puerto Rico via a cruise ship from Europe, Kohlhepp said.
After a social worker contacted police in Pennsylvania, it took almost a year for DNA samples to confirm that the woman was indeed Patricia Kopta.
"It's a sad thing, but it's a relief off my mind," her husband said. "When your wife goes missing, you're a suspect."
Bob Kopta, who did not remarry, said he doesn't plan to visit, and that he's now trying to forget the past, though he's glad to know she's being taken care of.
"She could have come home at any time. She always said she wanted to go to a warm climate," he said.
Smith, on the other hand, wants to go to the island to see her older sister. She says she's been unable to speak to the elder sibling on the phone because she cannot hold a conversation, given her dementia. A twin sister of Patricia Kopta died without knowing her fellow twin was still alive.
"Whether she knows me or not, I still want to see her and give her a hug and tell her I love her," Smith said. "I thought maybe she had died."
What post do you just have to keep reading and searching about, maybe hoping for an update or convinced the official judgement is wrong and you feel there is another suspect out there. For me I come back to the West Memphis 3 and still keep trying to get more information to try and figure out the right suspects. Also the The Springfield 3 what happened to them, how did they get all 3 out of the home, will we ever get to the bottom of it? Please share your cases or theories.