National

These four cold cases sat unsolved — until now

Stories by Real-Time News journalists, with AI summarization

Recent advances in forensic technology and dedication by investigators have enabled significant breakthroughs in cold cases, bringing long-awaited justice and closure to families. Genetic genealogy and DNA analysis have emerged as powerful tools, as seen in the identification of a woman killed in 1991. In another case, a blood trail left by a woman’s body in 2018 later revealed a suspect.

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

A cold case involved Danielle Clause, 42, who was found slain on a Ventura hilltop in 1991, has been solved, California police say.

NO. 1: WOMAN FOUND SLAIN ON HILLTOP IN 1991, CALIFORNIA COPS SAY. NOW DNA HELPS SOLVE CASE

“She was a good person with a mighty soul, and she was taken way too young.” | Published May 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney

Nearly three decades after a Pizza Hut delivery driver was found dead on a Utah road, there have been charges filed in her killing, Utah prosecutors say.

NO. 2: PIZZA HUT DRIVER WAS FOUND DEAD ON ROAD 28 YEARS AGO, UTAH OFFICIALS SAY. MAN CHARGED

Blood on a seat buckle helped lead investigators to a suspect in the woman’s killing, prosecutors said. | Published May 20, 2024 | Read Full Story by Daniella Segura

A 69-year-old was arrested 35 years after a man was found “mortally wounded” in Bonne Terre, Missouri in 1989, officials said.

NO. 3: 69-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED 35 YEARS AFTER MAN FOUND ‘MORTALLY WOUNDED,’ MISSOURI COPS SAY

The case is the subject of the podcast “Small Town Forgotten.” | Published September 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kate Linderman

The remains of a North Carolina woman who disappeared suspiciously in September had been bound with an electrical cord and burned beyond recognition, an autopsy report showed.

NO. 4: BLOOD TRAIL LED TO WOMAN’S BODY IN 2018, TEXAS COPS SAY. NOW, SUSPECT FOUND IN FLORIDA

She was found bludgeoned to death in a downtown San Antonio parking lot. | Published October 8, 2024 | Read Full Story by Mitchell Willetts

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.