Hi everyone,
Nine cold case developments were reported between October 12 and 18, 2026: three arrests or new charges, two decades-old killings closed with deceased suspects, three sets of remains identified, and one Canadian murder charge withdrawn after police lost evidence.
Gloria Kowalewicz, Chicago, Illinois (1960)
Case Overview: Gloria Kowalewicz, 8, was abducted on November 12, 1960, while walking to morning Mass on Chicago's South Side. She was found hours later, shot twice in the head, in a ditch in a forest preserve southwest of the city. A task force interviewed more than 1,300 people and polygraphed more than a dozen, but the case went unsolved. Evidence was preserved, including a fingerprint from her purse strap, and semen traces yielded a male DNA profile in 2010 without producing a suspect.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Gloria Kowalewicz, abducted and killed November 12, 1960
Jurisdiction / Agency: Chicago Police Department, with the FBI and Illinois State Police
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: FBI comparison of crime scene DNA against genetic samples submitted to family tree research websites, confirmed by a fingerprint match
Breakthrough Summary: Chicago police announced on October 12, 2026, that former CPD detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. was the likely killer. He had joined the department in 1959, retired in 1987, and died in Las Vegas in 2006 at age 70, so he cannot be prosecuted. His fingerprints from his 1959 CPD job application matched the print on Gloria's purse strap. CPD said McInerney "should never have worn the CPD star," and the FBI is checking whether he had other victims.
Patricia Diana Hunt Fielding, Ojai, California (1990)
Case Overview: On July 23, 1990, fire crews responding to a traffic collision found partial human remains down an embankment near Highway 33 and Creek Road in unincorporated Ojai. Later searches recovered more skeletal elements and five teeth. The medical examiner estimated a woman aged 30 to 60, and the cause and manner of death were undetermined. A CODIS profile, dental comparisons and a facial reconstruction failed to identify her, and she was listed in NamUs as UP15158.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Patricia Diana Hunt Fielding of Taft, California, born October 15, 1933; remains found July 23, 1990
Jurisdiction / Agency: Ventura County Sheriff's Office (Major Crimes Bureau and Cold Case Unit), with the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Forensic genetic genealogy (Othram Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing and genealogy search, beginning February 2025), confirmed by a family reference sample
Breakthrough Summary: The sheriff's office announced the identification on October 14, 2026. Genealogy leads pointed detectives to a family that had not heard from a relative in decades, and a family reference sample produced a positive match. Fielding was a mother of four. Investigators are seeking information about her life and death.
Have information? Contact the Ventura County Sheriff's Cold Case Unit at (805) 383-8739 or [email protected] (case 90-55883).
Michelle Parker, Orlando, Florida (2011)
Michelle Parker. Photo: Orlando Police Department
Case Overview: Michelle Parker, a 33-year-old mother of three, was last seen on November 17, 2011, after dropping off her 3-year-old twins at the home of her ex-fiancé, Dale Smith Jr. That same day, an episode of "The People's Court" aired in which the two argued over an engagement ring. Her black Hummer was found the next day near Walden Circle, and her iPhone was recovered weeks later from a lake near Belle Isle. Smith was long named as a suspect, but no charges were filed for nearly 15 years, and Parker has never been found.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Michelle Parker, disappeared November 17, 2011
Jurisdiction / Agency: Orlando Police Department; Office of State Attorney Monique Worrell (Orange County, Florida)
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Reexamination of testimony and the suspect's conflicting statements, plus digital forensics on vehicles, phones, computers and other devices
Breakthrough Summary: Dale Smith Jr., 55, was arrested at his Orlando business on October 14, 2026, and charged with second-degree murder. Police said "all evidence leads to Dale Smith Jr." and the State Attorney said the charge could be upgraded. Smith pleaded not guilty and is held without bond; the warrant and affidavit are sealed. Parker's remains have not been located.
Sources: ABC News, WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando
Have information? Contact the Orlando Police Department.
Charles Hale and Lester McCollum, Battle Ground, Washington (1962)
Charles Hale and Lester McCollum. Photo: Clark County Sheriff's Office, via KATU
Case Overview: On June 24, 1962, brothers-in-law Charles Hale, 71, and Lester McCollum, 67, were found dead on McCollum's property near Battle Ground in Clark County after friends requested a welfare check. Both deaths were ruled homicides. A victim's vehicle was recovered in Seattle days later, and detectives suspected robbery. A fingerprint from the car's rearview mirror went unidentified until 2017.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Charles Hale and Lester McCollum, found June 24, 1962
Jurisdiction / Agency: Clark County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Team, with the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Fingerprint match, then DNA testing of cigarette butts and twine from the case, including a comparison with a DNA reference sample from a suspect's descendant
Breakthrough Summary: On October 13, 2026, the sheriff's office announced it had identified two teenagers at the time, Barton M. Stebbins and Walter Stain, as the likely killers. The 2017 fingerprint matched Stebbins, who gave a voluntary DNA sample in 2025; DNA linked him to the evidence on June 3, 2026, two days after he died. A second DNA profile was linked to Stain, who died in 2019, on October 1, 2026. Neither can be prosecuted. The agency called it the oldest cold case its team has resolved.
Angela Renee Buck, Waterloo, Iowa (1995)
Angela Buck. Photo: Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, via KCRG/KTTC
Case Overview: Angela Renee Buck, 37, of Waterloo, was found on August 11, 1995, along a creek bank near a bridge in the 900 block of Pilot Grove Road east of Waterloo. The state medical examiner ruled she died of a gunshot wound. According to a criminal complaint, she had been at a home on Cottage Street the night before, where a fight occurred, and a witness saw two men force her into a vehicle. The case stayed open for three decades despite interviews with the eventual suspect in 1996, 2001 and 2025.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Angela Renee Buck, found August 11, 1995
Jurisdiction / Agency: Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office (Iowa), with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Black Hawk County Attorney's Office, Iowa Attorney General's Office Cold Case Unit, Todd County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota BCA
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Cold case reinvestigation built on witness accounts, a 1996 statement from an associate of the suspect, and the suspect's inconsistent statements across interviews
Breakthrough Summary: On October 16, 2026, the sheriff's office announced the arrest of Kelly Joseph Grant, 59, of Bertha, Minnesota, on a first-degree murder charge. The complaint says investigators identified an additional motive in 2025: a false belief that Buck was giving police information about drug activity. Grant initially denied knowing Buck and later said she was a former coworker.
Sources: FOX 9, KCRG via KTTC, Iowa Cold Cases
Have information? Contact the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office at 319-291-2587 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477).
Leon Heron, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida (2007)
Case Overview: Leon Heron, 34, was shot and killed on May 13, 2007, in the parking lot of his Lauderdale Lakes apartment complex while carrying takeout dinner home to his wife. The Broward Sheriff's Office says two people intent on robbery, driving a stolen SUV, confronted him; he fought back and one of them shot him. The case went cold until April 2023, when a detective received a tip that a Florida prison inmate had information about a Broward County murder.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Leon Heron, killed May 13, 2007
Jurisdiction / Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office Cold Case Homicide Unit (Broward County, Florida)
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Prison informant tip, followed by DNA evidence and confessions, according to the lead detective
Breakthrough Summary: BSO announced on October 15, 2026, that both suspects are now charged. Inmate Brittany Hanfield, who first claimed to be a witness, was arrested November 10, 2025. A Broward County grand jury indicted the second suspect, Sheila Arstil, on October 7, 2026. Both were 17 at the time, face murder charges, and are held without bond.
Sources: CBS News Miami, Boca Post
Have information? Contact the Broward Sheriff's Office.
John Richard Molis, Sanford, Florida (1997)
John Richard Molis. Photo: FOX 35 Orlando
Case Overview: On March 24, 1997, two people walking their dog found skeletal remains in a wooded area near Fulton Street and Mangoustine Avenue in Sanford, near the former Central Florida Regional Hospital. The medical examiner found sharp-force injuries to the head and ruled the death a homicide, but the man could not be identified. A 2023 DNA profile from a tooth produced no CODIS match. Molis, a Wisconsin native who worked in janitorial services at Splendid China in Kissimmee, had been reported missing from the Orlando area on January 21, 1997; his station wagon was later found abandoned at an Orlando Greyhound station.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: John Richard Molis (also reported as Moulis), 37, reported missing January 21, 1997; remains found March 24, 1997
Jurisdiction / Agency: Sanford Police Department, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Forensic genetic genealogy (Othram Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing on bone, FDLE genealogy search, confirmed with a relative's DNA reference sample), funded by a 2025 state grant
Breakthrough Summary: Sanford police announced the identification on October 15, 2026. FDLE flagged a possible close relative in July, and Molis was positively identified on August 31. The case is now an active homicide investigation, and police are asking anyone who knew or worked with him to come forward.
Sources: WFTV Channel 9, FOX 35 Orlando, Othram DNASolves
Have information? Contact the Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Tammy Fortson, Conyers, Georgia (1997)
Tammy Fortson. Photo: Conyers Police Department, via Atlanta News First
Case Overview: Tammy Fortson was reported missing in 1997 from the Fox Chase Court area of Conyers. In 2016, skeletal remains were found near Christian Circle, an area believed to be one of the last places she was seen, but they could not be identified. Portions of the remains were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in 2019, and a detective who took over the case in 2024 ordered additional forensic testing.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Tammy Fortson, missing since 1997; remains found 2016
Jurisdiction / Agency: Conyers Police Department, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the medical examiner and the Newton County Sheriff's Office
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Advanced DNA kinship analysis at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification
Breakthrough Summary: Conyers police announced on October 12, 2026, that the remains are Fortson's. Police said DNA comparison with a known relative strongly supported the match, and the GBI and medical examiner confirmed the identification in July. The circumstances of her disappearance and death remain under investigation.
Have information? Contact the Newton County Sheriff's Office at 470-426-4294.
Byron Carr, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada (1988)
Byron Carr
Case Overview: Byron Carr, a 36-year-old former teacher, was found strangled and stabbed in his Charlottetown bedroom on November 11, 1988. A note reading "I WILL KILL AGAIN" was written on a wall at the scene. The case was reopened in 2007, and in 2022 police began using genetic genealogy on DNA evidence, including underwear believed to belong to the killer. That work led to the 2024 arrest of Todd Joseph Gallant (also known as Todd Joseph Irving), who was charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains and pleaded not guilty.
Key Details Digest:
Victim / Subject: Byron Carr, killed November 11, 1988
Jurisdiction / Agency: Charlottetown Police Services; Prince Edward Island Crown Attorney's Office
Resolution / Breakthrough Method: Forensic genetic genealogy (2022) led to the arrest; this week's development is a withdrawal of charges after evidence was lost
Breakthrough Summary: As reported on October 13, 2026, the Crown withdrew all charges against Gallant, 59, weeks before a scheduled jury trial. The Crown said it learned in August that police had lost "extensive crucial evidence," leaving no reasonable likelihood of conviction, and a police review confirmed the "overwhelming majority" of collected evidence is missing. Gallant has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.
Sources: Global News, The Canadian Press via CTV News
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