Discarded beer cans and cigarettes caught the killer of 22-year-old Lisa Holstead, police revealed. — A man has been convicted for the 1986 murder of a young woman in Wisconsin after genetic genealogy was used to trace him via his family tree. Lou A Griffin, 67, pleaded no contest to homicide by reckless conduct in the death of Lisa Holstead, 22. He will be sentenced…

The 13-year-old disappeared from California in 1989 and her family wants the answers they need to bring her home. — In the early days of 1989, Ilene Beth Misheloff had the world at her feet. She was an accomplished figure skater with dreams of becoming a doctor so she could help sick children. But all that would be ripped away from her family one sunny afternoon — and Ilene would…

Some of my favourite authors all have new books coming out this year. — The new year may only be a few weeks old, but we have already been treated to the promise of some excellent new thriller novels over the coming months. If it’s excitement, dark plotlines and creepy settings you’re after, look no further than these highly-anticipated titles — you’ll be covered…

A man has been charged with the deaths of a mother and daughter in New York nearly 30 years ago thanks to DNA. — Police in New York have announced they have been able to charge the man they believe is responsible for the murders of a woman and her disabled daughter in the city nearly three decades ago. Sarah Roberts was 57 and lived with her daughter Sharon, who had developmental disabilities, in…

The cold case murder in Texas dates back to 1982, but the state’s Rangers hope new developments in forensics could create fresh leads. Monica ‘Christie’ Wilson was just 19 in the summer of 1982. Recently married, she was well-known in her local community as an employee of the Happy Chaps…

Their cases are eerily similar and even police say the person of interest is the same — but they don’t seem to be able to prove it. — One missing woman is always too many, but the small town of Rantoul in Illinois holds the dubious honour of being the location of two very similar cases involving suspicious disappearances. Heather Zimmerman vanished in 1997 and Jamie E Harper was last seen in 2007. What’s more, there is more…

She was dismembered and her headless torso dumped by a highway, but now her family finally looks to have justice. — Police in Missouri have announced that a man has been charged with a murder dating back to 2004 after DNA linked him to the crime. Mike A Clardy, 63, was charged with second-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse in the case of Deanna Denise Howland, a 35-year-old mother-of-five from…

The 14-year-old was murdered at Christmas time in 1992, but no one has ever been charged. — Police in the English county of Norfolk have said they will continue to seek answers in the unsolved murder of a schoolgirl dating back to 1992. Johanna Young was just 14 when her life was cut short in the most brutal way and, despite arrests having been made over the…

She was just 13 when she was killed, but Helen’s family believes there is still a chance for justice. — It was April 1984, and 13-year-old Texan Helen Kilgore wasn’t at home. At first, her parents and three sisters weren’t too concerned — the middle schooler had developed a habit lately of taking herself off on little trips from which she always returned. But as the hours ticked by and…