Gregory Fleetwood, 69, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday in the killing of 36-year-old Jasmine Porter. He is expected to be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Forensic Science”
Cold Case Inquiries Stall After Ancestry.com Revisits Policy for Users
By Gotham Rex on December 7, 2025
The genealogy site’s clarification of its terms and conditions has barred those working on unsolved crimes from access to the company’s vast trove of records. Source: New York Times
Florida Man Charged in Murder of Woman Found Near Gilgo Beach
By Gotham Rex on December 6, 2025
The woman’s body was found near her 2-year-old’s, and the man who was charged was the child’s father, the authorities said. The case did not appear to be linked to the Long Island serial killings. Source: New York Times
Georgia Man Charged With Raping Women in Queens in the 1990s
By Gotham Rex on October 17, 2025
New DNA testing linked Michael Benjamin, 57, to the assaults of five women between 1995 and 1997 in southeast Queens, according to the authorities. Source: New York Times
Nassau Police Charge Man With Raping and Killing Teenager in 1984
By Gotham Rex on October 15, 2025
Theresa Fusco was left in the woods near the roller rink where she had worked. “I loved her and I miss her,” her father said. “She lives in my heart.” Source: New York Times
Judge in Gilgo Beach Case Spurns Request to Throw Out DNA Evidence
By Gotham Rex on September 23, 2025
Lawyers for Rex Heuermann, who is charged with killing seven women, made last-ditch attempts to toss crucial evidence, but prosecutors are preparing for an expected trial next year. Source: New York Times
Inside the Hunt for the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer
By Gotham Rex on July 20, 2023
As investigators spent years looking for a suspect, a key clue was buried in their files. Could they have solved the case years earlier? Source: New York Times
‘Nightmare’ Warehouse Fire Erases Evidence in Many Unsolved Cases
By Gotham Rex on December 14, 2022
Lawyers say evidence in cold cases and bids for exoneration disappeared or was ruined when a Police Department storage facility in Brooklyn went up in flames. Source: New York Times
‘What a Horrible Place This Would Have Been’
By Gotham Rex on August 8, 2022
Archaeologists found the remains of 14 soldiers who died in a pivotal Revolutionary War battle — a fresh reminder of the violence of war. Source: New York Times
40 Years After Her Murder, ‘Princess Doe’ Has a Name
By Gotham Rex on July 15, 2022
She was found dead in a New Jersey cemetery in 1982 and became known worldwide as Princess Doe. On Friday, she was identified as Dawn Olanick, 17. Source: New York Times
‘Torso Killer’ Charged in Strangulation of Long Island Woman in 1968
By Gotham Rex on June 22, 2022
DNA evidence linked Richard Cottingham to the killing of Diane Cusick, prompting Nassau County prosecutors to review 13 years of unsolved murders of women. Source: New York Times
This Database Stores the DNA of 31,000 New Yorkers. Is It Illegal?
By Gotham Rex on March 22, 2022
A database used by the New York Police Department violates state law and the Constitution, the Legal Aid Society contends in a lawsuit. Source: New York Times
9/11 Victims Are Still Being Identified, 20 Years Later
By Gotham Rex on September 7, 2021
The medical examiner’s office is still working painstakingly to identify 9/11 victims. There are 1,106 victims whose remains have not been found. Source: New York Times
Trying to Find Your Mother’s Remains From Ground Zero, 20 Years Later
By Gotham Rex on September 6, 2021
The medical examiner’s office is still working painstakingly to identify 9/11 victims. There are 1,106 victims whose remains have not been found. Source: New York Times
Queens Man Is Charged in 1976 Killing of Pregnant Teenager Evelyn Colon
By Gotham Rex on April 5, 2021
Luis Sierra, 63, of Ozone Park, was arrested this week in the killing of Evelyn Colon, a Jersey City 15-year-old whose dismembered remains were found along a riverbank in Pennsylvania, the authorities said. Source: New York Times