Seeking justice decades after slayings

CITATION

Malagon, Elvis. "Seeking Justice Decades after Slayings." Northwestern Indiana Times. The Times of Northwestern Indiana, 6 Dec. 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/seeking-justice-decades-after-slayings/articleb250a071-fbe8-5c72-bd25-d371edd37967.html>.

SUMMARY

The Lake County CSI unit has dedicated itself to solving some of the 600 cold cases in the area. It all started when a detective from Gary, Indiana asked to see a filed cold case about an eight year old boy named Kenny Conrick who had died in 1979. After reopening the case, the sheriff department commander Matt Eaton and his department’s team managed to successfully relate the DNA found on Conrick’s clothes to David B. Bowen, who later pleaded guilty.

As a result, this case has provoked a lot of interest in other cold cases too. According to Malagon, “Eaton said they were able to piece together a database of about 600 homicides that had taken place from 1975 to 2001 in Lake County” and that “about 20 of those homicides had been solved by searching through the newspaper articles at the county library”. Later on, he explains that cases are examined to see if any DNA evidence that could connect a suspect to one of the homicides. If there is potential that a possible suspect’s DNA can be found, then the team can use advanced DNA tests to figure who the culprit could possibly be.

However, Malagon is careful to explain that sometimes cases can be solved without genetic evidence. He lists a few more cases regarding Christian Choate, Linda C. Martin, and a strangled toddler. Not all cases were happily resolved but these cold cases were eventually cracked, even if it did open up quite a few festering wounds for those involved.

Last but not least, Elvis Malagon also discusses how the crime scene unit is vital for solving cold cases, no matter how much time has passed. It holds case files that have lasted ever since the 1970’s. Regarding homicides, the sheriff department handles the process of collecting evidence, something which never changes throughout the decades. Malagon expands on this idea by stating, “Any damp items are still air dried before they are packaged in brown paper bags, which helps preserve the evidence.”

Simply put, it is a fact that every forensics investigator should understand. He also explains fingerprint analysis and firearm examination. However, what it may be, it is clear that people have high hopes for solving even the toughest of nuts to crack.

Certainly, a detective’s work is never over.

RELEVANCE

“Seeking justice decades after slayings”, written by Elvis Malagon, is one of the most compelling arguments yet. While the public normally keeps murders out of sight and out of mind, people are seldom privy to the many, many cold cases left unsolved. Now, however, light can be shed on these cases, and the general populace will surely have a greater understanding of how advanced technology has become.

Also, while this article has proven to be most fascinating and even informative about evidence collection, it is also very poignant and sensitive to those affected by these very cases. Some of the people they discuss are parents of the victim.

However, some parents are merely collateral damage, like the mother of a strangled toddler, who was unwilling to divulge much information. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the mother’s ex-boyfriend’s DNA was present at the crime scene, it was not enough to press charges.

Perhaps it is an unintentional trend, but interestingly enough, some parents did seem to murder their own child. For example, Christian Choate, a ten year old, was neglected by his father and stepmother and even was kept in a dog cage before dying. His death was not reported until he was found in a nearby shallow grave.

Hopefully, after this article, society will be exposed to more cases regarding child abuse since many cold cases seem to have an abused child as the victim. This article highlights an important trend in many cold cases but no one can hide. Now these deceased children will finally be able to reach closure because of these investigations. On another note, the victims’ extended families will also be informed of what has happened to these minors and they may at long last receive a proper burial. And in the court of public opinion, even if there is not enough evidence to convict someone as a murder, if signs of abuse are present on a deceased child, then appraisal of the parents’ crimes will be obvious. Officials will be alert in case if said parents had any other children too.

Above all, it is encouraging that many investigators are determined and full of aspirations to deliver justice to cold case victims. The faith that they have in their technology and in their teams will be crucial for solving not just Lake County’s 600 cold cases but will be also important for solving cases outside of Gary, Indiana too. There is a great chance that other cities and states will follow in Indiana’s wake.

CRITIQUE

Overall, “Seeking justice decades after slayings” has proven to be an extremely well-written article. It separates its article into three subtopics to provide some organization, and the writing and syntax are nearly perfect. The topic is fresh but engaging.

It is easy to say that this article holds minimal errors. Yet, nothing is perfect, not even this piece of writing. One must remember that it is quite lengthy, enough to be divided into three topics. While the plethora of information is very much appreciated, perhaps the article could be shortened, at least a little bit.

Secondly, the only other problem is that most of these sections end with quotes. Quotes are great; they are stylish and they can add to each subject. However, when it comes to this news article, there are probably better means of closure. For instance, Malagon writes, “‘Everyone has their role in trying to bring justice for these cases,’ Judge said.” Even though the quote is very inspiring, and it is backed up by the rest of the article, Malagon can probably afford to discuss the relevance of these finds a little more to wrap up the report.

It is important to discuss the relevance so that a connection with a global context is more present. The more that connection thickens, the more significant the article can become. Nevertheless, the subject was attention-grabbing and intriguing in general.

In conclusion, this article was absolutely superb with a few subtle nitpicks.