Technology and Perseverance Crack Cold Cases
In the world of crime, there are countless cases that have baffled investigators, remaining unsolved or taking an inordinate amount of time to crack. There are countless tales of homicides, unexplained disappearances, and bizarre transgressions that are continually subjected to fresh scrutiny as police take advantage of advancements in technology. Often, all it takes is a single anonymous tip that sets detectives on a path towards solving these chilling mysteries. Fortuitously, modern technology has been instrumental in linking suspects to their deeds, leading to arrests years after the crime was committed. However, it implies that these culprits had the freedom to roam for years while victims’ families hungered for resolution. There remain numerous instances, however, where investigators are left scratching their heads, unable to apprehend the perpetrator.
Despite these complications, persistent sleuthing has led to the resolution of many hair-raising cold cases, solved and otherwise. Consider the case of Kenneth Perry, convicted in the killing of siblings John and Pamela Sumpter. The Sumpters were found lifeless in their DeKalb County apartment one fateful July night in 1990. It is suspected that John was murdered the same night, while Pamela, although sexually assaulted and stabbed, managed to evade Perry and alert authorities before succumbing weeks later. Perry’s DNA was never identified on Pamela’s rape kit, cold casing the crime. Only with advanced genetic genealogy in 2024 did the Georgia Bureau of Investigation identify a match between the DNA and Perry, which ultimately led to his arrest and subsequent guilty verdict.
Meanwhile, the case of Harold and Thelma Swain shocked the southeast Georgia community. The couple was executed during a bible study session at Rising Daughter Baptist Church in 1985. Circumstances led investigators to believe that a quarrel between the male victim, Harold, and the suspect, escalated to a deadly finish. The lack of solid clues allowed the potential suspect, Dennis Perry, to elude capture. The case didn’t move forward until the late nineties, leading to Perry’s conviction in 2000. Perry, however, was acquitted after it was revealed that his prosecution was grounded on insubstantial evidence, leaving the case cold once more.
In an astounding turn of events in 2024, an unexpected tip prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to apprehend a new figure, Erik Kristensen Sparre. Investigative findings suggest that Sparre, thought to be a white supremacist, had falsified his alibi on the night of the incident and allegedly boasted about ‘killing two ni****rs’, according to The Death Penalty Information Center. Now aged 61 and facing charges of murder and aggravated assault, Sparre has to reckon with the accusations levelled against him.
One of the most alarming cold cases emerged in December 2007 when fragments of a woman’s carcass were discovered in a burning sack on the side of a road in Hogansville, Georgia. The identity of the victim remained enigmatic until 2023, when DNA forensics allowed authorities to establish a match with that of 24-year-old Nicole Alston out of New York City. It emerged that the last communication Alston’s family received was around Thanksgiving, after she relocated to Atlanta alongside her friend, Angel Marie Thompson.
Thompson, however, was never associated with the murder of Alston. Yet, scandal surrounds her due to accusations of conspiracy to steal Alston’s identity to claim social security, food stamp, and housing benefits. Allegedly, nearly $200,000 worth of Alston’s benefits ended up in Thompson’s coffers by the time her scheme winded down. Thompson has since been taken into custody and accused of concealing Alston’s demise. The quest for justice for Alston continues as the identity of her killer remains undetermined.
In an eerily similar vein, Hattie DeBardelaben ended up losing her life while under police custody in 1945. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until nearly eight decades later that her grandchildren unearthed the full story behind her demise. After the implementation of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act in 2019, document access was granted leading to the revelation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Hattie.
Federal documents divulged that four officers responded to Hattie’s home on the Hunt for illicit alcohol. Even after insisting no whiskey was present, they proceeded with their search. Tragedy unfolded when one of the officers assaulted Hattie’s nephew, and when Hattie intervened, the officers turned their violence onto her, causing mortal injuries. After being detained in a police car, Hattie succumbed to her injuries en route to jail. These harrowing details only came to light in 2024, much to the shock of Hattie’s descendants.
Another significant case revolved around three individuals who were coerced into a house in Jonesboro and savagely tormented and killed. Union City police officers patrolling the I-85 in Georgia discovered their bodies abandoned in a Dodge Charger on an exit ramp in January 2013. The victims, Quinones King, Rodney Cottrell, and Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson succumbed either to strangulation or asphyxiation. For over a decade, the case hovered in the realms of the unsolved until a breakthrough in 2024 by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office who successfully identified the four culprits and charged them with malice murder.
In a similar vein, a grim discovery was made in 1976 when the body of a woman was found discarded in a ditch alongside a rural Grundy County road, her head masked by a sweater and a trash bag and a gunshot wound inflicted. As DNA testing improved in 2017, the body was exhumed to discern her identity. By 2024, authorities were finally able to identify Jane Doe as JoAnne Vickie Smith, an African-American woman hailing from Ohio. Her killer, however, remains at large.
Another shocking case unfolded when a six-year-old boy was relocated from Charlotte, NC to Georgia with his mother. His remains, believed to have been resting near a DeKalb County cemetery for three to six months, were discovered in 1999. It wasn’t until 2019, two decades later, that a rendering of his face allowed his identification as William Dashawn Hamilton. After tracking down his mother, Teresa Black, authorities determined that she left her son with a stranger as she could no longer care for him and eventually was charged and acquitted of all charges except concealing the death of another.
Shakeira Yvonne Rucker, a 37-year-old mother of four, was tragically reported missing last seen picking up food at a restaurant. Despite a joint search by the FBI and local law enforcement, she remained missing. Six days into her disappearance, a gruesome discovery was made in a Self Storage unit owned by Rucker’s husband, Cory Hill, where Rucker’s decomposed body was found. Hill was charged with first-degree murder in the wake of allegations that he assassinated his wife over a quarrel concerning his affair.
Back in 1984, a household tragedy occurred the night before Mardi Gras. Ramona Brown and her family awoke to their home ablaze. Among the ruins, two children were found deceased. Authorities conjectured that Ramona perished in the fire as her remains were not found in the ruins. Today, investigators are endeavoring to confirm whether Ramona might still be alive, releasing age-progression images of her.
In 2017, a horrifying discover was made when 19-year-old Jenkins was found locked in a hotel freezer in Rosemont, Illinois. Footage shows Jenkins, apparently drunk, stumbling through the hotel hallways alone before she mysteriously ended up in the freezer. Her death was ruled accidental, caused by hypothermia and alcohol intoxication, and no charges have been filed in the case.
In another shocking case closed too soon, George Tompkins, aged 19, was located hanging from a tree in Indiana. Initially ruled a suicide in 1922, the record was corrected to state homicide in 2022 after volunteers argued the investigation wasn’t thorough. No one has yet been arrested in connection with the murder.
Lastly, teenage twins Dannette and Jeanette Millbrook went missing on March 18, 1990, and the case was only reopened in 2013 after a documentary on their disappearance aired. With limited evidence, the police initially designated them as runaways. The mystery still surrounds their disappearance, and a $50,000 reward has been offered in hopes of uncovering vital information to solving the case.