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Tenacious Detective Cracks Two Virginia Cold Cases In One Shot
For nearly 40 years, Jacqueline Lard and Amy Baker's killer has remained a mystery.
On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, authorities in Virginia announced a break in the cases.
Elroy Harrison, 65, was identified as a suspect in both cases thanks to the relentless work of Stafford County Sheriff's Detective D.K. Wood, Sheriff David Decatur said.
Jacqueline Lard was killed in 1986, and Amy Baker in 1989. Both were residents of Stafford, but Baker was returning from visiting family in Falls Church when she went missing.
On March 4, Harrison was indicted by a Stafford County Grand Jury for the fir…
Deceased Fisherman ID'd As Virginia Cold Case Killer: State Police
A fisherman who died in 2017 has been identified as the killer responsible for three unsolved Virginia murders in the late 1980s, police said.
Alan W. Wilmer Sr., who died at 63 years old in Lancaster County, VA, is believed to have slain David L. Knobling, 20, Robin M. Edwards, 14, and Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, 29, Virginia State Police announced on Jan. 8.
If Wilmer were to be alive, charges would be filed against him in the thre homicides, both the Isle of Wight County and City of Hampton Commonwealth’s attorneys confirm.
ABOUT WILMER:
DNA Evidence Identifies Former Northern Ne…
Cold Case Murder Suspect Back In Fairfax County
A 51-year-old New York man suspect in a 1994 murder case is back in Virginia.
Stephen Smerk, of Niskayuna, NY, was extradited to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
He is facing second-degree murder in the Nov. 20, 1994 death of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was found dead in a Springfield, VA home, Fairfax County police said.
Smerk is believed to have stabbed Lawrence inside of her Reseca Lane home, when he was 22 years old, authorities said.
In 1994, a DNA profile was developed; however, at the time there was no match in any system for …
Cold CASE: Pastor Nabbed For Delco Homicide Of 8-Year-Old Gretchen Harrington
Nearly 50 years after 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington was found dead in a Pennsylvania forest, police say they've arrested the man who killed her.
David Zandstra, now 83 years old, originally a pastor from New Jersey but most recently of Marietta, Georgia, is charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping a minor, and related counts, said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer's Office in a release on Monday, July 24.
“The murder of Gretchen Harrington has haunted members of law enforcement since that terrible day in August 1975," the DA said.
"The families of victims often say that their live…
Fugitive Sought In $14K Target Thefts In South Jersey
A 31-year-old man from Delaware is sought in the theft of $14,000 worth of electronics from a South Jersey Target store, authorities said.
Quentin A. Murphy,of New Castle, DE, is wanted in the burglary, Evesham police said.
On July 25, 2019, the Evesham Police Department responded to 751 South Route 73, Target, for a report of a burglary during the overnight hours while the business was closed.
The investigation revealed that at approximately 2:30 a.m., three suspects entered the store by smashing the glass of the front entrance doors. Once inside, the suspects st…
Decorated PA Solider Identified Over 70 Years Later
A soldier who was killed inaction over 70 years ago has been identified, according to a release on Thursday by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Army Sgt. James N. Stryker, 20, of West Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, who was killed during the Korean War, was identified by DPAA on Aug. 5, 2020.
DNA analysis was used to identify Sgt. Stryker’s remains were buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the release says.
The remains were originally labelled Unknown X-1373 Tanggok but now his name will be recorded on the …
