Tag: homicide

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DNA Evidence Helps Put to Rest a 20 Year Old Murder Case

DNA Evidence Helps Put to Rest a 20 Year Old Murder Case

DNA Final Factor in 20 Year Old Multiple Murder Cases

 

Technology and Science is ever changing. It’s so amazing and a thing of awe what science can do today. Thanks to DNA evidence an arrest has been made against a man who is involved for the killings of two young women twenty years ago. The two women who vanished, ten months apart on bike rides. They were riding near Phoenix’s Canal System.

 

Police were able to arrest forty-two year old, Bryan Patrick Miller on late Tuesday. They got him for the stabbing deaths of two girls, twenty-two year old Angela Brosso and seventeen year old Melanie Bernas.

 

According to the report, Angela was killed in November of 1992. Melanie was killed almost a year later in September 1993. Both of the young women had disappeared while biking near the Arizona Canal. Angela’s body was found decapitated, near an apartment complex. Melanie’s body was found 1.5 miles away just floating in the water.

 

Police Use DNA Evidence to Solve 20 Year Old Case

 

Police said that they were able to use forensic evidence connecting the killings within years. However, the investigators weren’t able to identify a suspect back then. Luckily, some DNA evidence was recently collected by some undercover officers and were able to link Miller to the killings.

 

Sgt. Trent Crump’s Statement:

Within literally hours we had a hit from those two murders, scientifically linking him by DNA, linking him to those two murders over 20 years ago.

 

 

Officers were able to search Miller’s rental home overnight. They expected to be continuing the search for several days due to the home being full of unspecified material. It’s unclear of what though.

 

Miller was being held without bond for: two counts of first degree murder and kidnapping as well as one count of sexual assault. Miller did not have a lawyer when he appeared in court on Wednesday. However, during the police interview, he denied having any involvement in the killings.

 

Police Statement in Court Document:

The defendant could not explain how the DNA profile obtained from the defendant was a match to the DNA profiles obtained from the victims.

 

Even though Miller denied any involvement, he did admit to living in the area of the killings at the time. He even admitted to also riding his bike on the bike paths.

 

Police have stated in the past that these killings were like the killer specialized in military training and he also collected trophies from the victims. Either bike from the killings were never found. However during the search, police did find a bike in Miller’s shed. It’s unclear if it’s one of the victims bikes though.

 

Source:https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/south-phoenix/angela-brosso-melanie-bernas-update-bryan-patrick-miller-denies-involvement-in-death-of-girls

 

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
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Car Wash Shooting

Phoenix Homicide Lawyer

Phoenix Car Wash Shooting Leaves One Dead

 

According to the Police, a suspect shot a man at a car wash in Phoenix and then had a seat on the ground nearby the incident. James Holmes who is a spokesman with the Phoenix Police said that the victim was a male. He was at a car wash that was near 3rd Street and McDowell Road on Sunday. The shooting happened around two, thirty in the evening. The suspect just walked up to the victim and shot him.

 

Mr. Holmes said that the suspect had walked only a short distance from the scene and then sat down under a tree while holding his weapon. The responding officers were luckily able to convince him to give him self up after some negotiations. Holmes also stated that the victim had died from his gunshot injuries. A police lieutenant who was at the scene told the local news that the suspect and the victim were related.

 

 Police Investigate Car Wash Shooting

 

The police were able to identify the victim. The Phoenix Police say that the victim was a fifty-four year old man named David Pacheco-Chavez. The car was that he was shot and killed at was the Los Olivos Car Wash.

 

Police are unsure of why the suspect would shoot his family member. Especially since the victim and suspect lived together. But apparently there might have been an on-going dispute between them. The victim, David Pacheco-Chavez was actually an employee of the Los Olivos Car Wash.

 

This might sound like a strange shooting and it is, but sadly these kind of random shootings aren’t uncommon. It’s sad that these family members couldn’t work out their differences peacefully instead of it ending with one of their lives.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/victim-idd-in-phoenix-car-wash-shooting

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
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Two People Dead After Double Shooting in Laveen

Two People Dead After Double Shooting in Laveen

Double Shooting in Laveen Kills Two People

 

According to local police, two people are now dead after a double shooting in the Laveen area on Thursday afternoon.  According to the report, the shooting happened around two,fifty in the afternoon. It happened close to the 55th Lane and Euclid Avenue.

 

Jonathan Howard who is a Phoenix Police Sgt. stated that the officers arrived to the scene and they then found one of the shooting victims was shot in the street.  Police said that the man wasn’t cooperative at first, however he did point out the house to the authorities and that is where they found a body of a second shooting victim inside of the doorway. The second victim had been shot several times.

 

A news video showed that the garage of the home, had some pretty significant damage. Police also believe that the suspect had crashed through the garage door when he tried to flee the scene.

 

There is no definite suspect description at this time. Police, however are looking for a red truck that has visible damage.

 

Police Think Double Shooting is Drug Related

 

The police have stated that even though the investigation process is still pretty early, there have been indications that the double shooting is a drug related crime. Police also believe that a family of “squatters” had been staying at the home and using it as a stash house to hide their drugs.

 

Both of the shooting victims have not been identified at this time. One of the victims is a Hispanic male and an adult Black male.

 

Police are asking that if anyone has any information about this double shooting, drug crime, please call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6141 or the Silent Witness program at 480-948-6377.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/south-phoenix/phoenix-police-investigating-deadly-double-shooting

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me

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Man Indicted for 1998 Toddler Murder

Severe Child Abuse in Phoenix

Man Charged with Killing a Four Year Old Toddler in 1998

 

A family is finally getting some justice for their four year old little girl who was killed in 1998. The investigation was 17 years in the making.  The man who killed the four year old little girl from Arizona was finally arrested on Friday according to the prosecutors. It’s hard to believe that a case that has went on this long is finally getting some closure.

 

The man, Avelino Guzman Tamala was finally indicted last week for the murder charges of the 1998 death of Crystal Reyes. Tamala is fifty-one years old.

 

A col case investigative team from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was finally able to recently, positively identify the four year old little girl’s remains. Her remains were found on December 1, 1998 near the community of Mobile.

 

The investigators had found some information that indicated that Crystal was actually killed in April 1997, while she was in the care of her mother and Tamala. Guess there goes the “relief for the worried parents” theory I had.  How sick is this? The little girl was buried in a desert not far from Mobile. The investigators were recently able to use Crystal’s biological father’s DNA to positively identify her remains. However, the prosecutors have not stated how the evidence connects Tamala to Crystal’s death.

 

 Breakthrough in Four Year Old’s 17 Year Old Murder Case

 

The officers with the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Tamala without any complications on Friday. He is now to appear in court on February second for the initial pretrial conference.

 

The police are searching for Crystal’s mother, Anna Marlene Reyes who is now forty-eight years old.

 

The County Attorney, Bill Montgomery said that Crystal had been a victim of physical abuse. She even had to have her head shaved and was forced to live in a dog kennel. How sad, that poor child.

 

 Bill Montgomery’s Statement:

Thanks to the diligence of our cold case investigation team in cooperation with our law enforcement partners, we are now able to seek justice for an innocent child whose life was inexcusably and violently cut short.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/man-charged-in-1998-murder-of-arizona-girl

 

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me

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Phoenix Police Investigating Body Found in Suitcase

Body Found in a Suitcase Causes Police Investigation

 

On Thursday, the Phoenix Police Department started an investigation for a body that was found inside of a suitcase.  The homicide detectives came to the scene which was in the area of 16th Street and Bell Road. Sgt. Jonathan Howard said that this was after some restaurant workers found the body inside of the suitcase.

 

 Police Investigate and Find Adult Body in Suitcase

 

Sgt. Howard stated that the homicide detectives were able to open up the suitcase enough to know that the body is probably the body of an adult. He also said that the Maricopa County Medical Examiner had picked up the suitcase and would be performing an autopsy.

 

The body was found outside of the “The Codfather” restaurant, owned by Mark Briner. Mr. Briner said that his employee had went to throw out the trash and found the suitcase around ten,thirty in the morning.

 

Mr.Briner’s Statement

She went to lift it and it was kind of heavy and then she undone it and obviously found a body in there.

 

The worker at the restaurant told Mr.Briner’s wife then told him as well about what she found. Mr. Briner then went outside to check for himself and then called the police.

 

Sgt. Howard’s Statement:

It’s scary. It’s sad that somebody has the ability to take a human being and maybe stuff them into a suitcase and leave them next to a dumpster.

 

At this time the case is being treated as a homicide. The police are investigating and looking into the surveillance video from the restaurant to hopefully be able to learn some more information about who might have done this. If anyone has any information about this, please contact the police or Silent Witness.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/police-body-found-behind-phoenix-business

 

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
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Man Pushed Onto Tracks, Struck by Train

Man Pushed Onto Tracks, Struck by Train

Man Pushed Onto Subway Train Track and Killed

 

According to the police a man who was standing on a subway platform with his wife had been pushed onto the tracks Sunday morning. They said it was by another man. The victim was struck and killed by an oncoming train. Whoever pushed the man fled the scene. How horrible would that be? Just enjoying a Sunday with your honey then bam, someone ends it just by a little shove.

 

The police say that the unidentified man pushed the sixty-one year old, Wai Kuen Kwok off of the platform at the Grand Concourse and East 67th Street station. The authorities say that the act appeared to be “unprovoked”. Mr. Kwok was hit by a southbound D train at 8:40 in the morning. He was then pronounced dead at the scene. Police are calling this a homicide. Luckily, his wife wasn’t injured as well.

 

Suspect Had No Known Motive for Pushing Man onto Train Tracks

 

Police say that there was no indication that Kwok knew the suspect or that they had, had an altercation before Mr. Kwok was pushed. Witnesses told the police that they thought the man had fled the subway station after shoving Kwok and jumped onto a City bus.

 

The authorities later released a video surveillance that showed a man wearing a dark jacket. He was getting off of a city bus and walked into a store. The man later comes out of the store and was smoking a cigarette, then walked away. The Police say that the man is wanted for questioning in the connection of Mr. Kwok’s death.

 

Train accidents are common, unfortunately but being pushed onto the tracks for no reason isn’t. Hopefully the police can find the suspect and give the victim’s wife some peace knowing her husband’s killer is caught.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/national/police-man-killed-by-train-was-pushed-onto-tracks

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me