And the difference in wages between male and female cops
In 1964, a one-day old baby named Paul Fronczak was kidnapped from the hospital where he was born. The FBI believed they found him two years later abandoned in a shopping mall, and they returned him to his parents.
In 2012, however, DNA testing revealed that the boy they had found was not Paul Fronczak after all, but Jack Rosenthal, who was born six months earlier. Paul’s whereabouts remain unknown.
In a further twist, when Jack Rosenthal contacted his biological family, it turned out he was one of four children, all of whom had been neglected by their parents.
It even transpired that Jack had a twin, Jill, whose whereabouts are still unknown. To this day she has not shown up in any DNA databases.
Investigators tried to use forensic evidence to prove which brother was responsible, but it was to no avail and they actually had to drop the case.
In a similar case in the UK in 2016, Patrick Hennessy managed to escape a reckless driving conviction because he was a twin.
Prosecutors were unable to distinguish between Patrick’s DNA and that of his identical twin, James, whom he claimed was actually driving the car at the time.
In 1974, sisters Angelina and Deborah Logue (aged seven and four, respectively) lapsed into comas and died, while spending the afternoon at their aunt’s pool.
Investigators used a sophisticated tissue analysis to determine whether their death was caused by a harmful toxin or organism. Unfortunately their analysis yielded no results.
When they did reexamine the DNA evidence, it was found to match that of another man, Ronnie Byrd. Wright was exonerated, but Byrd was already dead, so the case never went back to trial.
And it is not for lack of forensic evidence either: the killer left fingerprints and handprints at both the scenes and in letters sent to law enforcement. There has just never been a match.
The infamous Zodiac killer murdered a number of people in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1960s and 1970s. To this day the killer’s identity is unknown.
In 1997, Kathy Mabry (not pictured) was found murdered in a house in Mississippi. Law enforcement used the bite mark on her body to charge James Earl Gates with the crime.
Bite mark identification is a controversial forensic technique, and there was no other evidence linking Gates to the crime, so the jury acquitted. The case remains unsolved.
Despite more than 24 hours of interviews, however, Dr. William H. Reid, who was called in to consult on his trial, never managed to work out the reason for Holmes’ actions.
After actress Elizabeth Short was brutally murdered in Los Angeles in 1947, LAPD launched a lengthy, high-profile investigation.
He therefore became known as the Somerton Man, and the case eventually went cold. It is hoped that advances in forensic science will at some point reveal the identity of the Somerton Man.
The victim, Kim Jong-nam, quickly collapsed and died on the way to the hospital. Experts are still not sure exactly what was used to kill him; tests were inconclusive.
In February 2017, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was murdered in an airport. A woman hurried up to him, rubbed something in his face, and ran off.
In 2012, Urooj Khan won a million dollars with a lottery ticket he had purchased at a 7-Eleven. Before he had a chance to cash in, however, he died.
In December 1996, six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her home after being strangled. Despite the forensic evidence, the case has never been solved.
According to the authorities, this is because the house and the crime scene were improperly handled.
Sources: (Reader's Digest)
In 1978, 17-year old Santae Tribble was convicted of murder. FBI forensics experts had matched a hair found at the scene with one of his, without the use of DNA testing.
It later transpired that the hair had not even come from a human, let alone from Santae Tribble. When it was discovered the hair came from a dog, Tribble was exonerated. The case, however, remains unsolved.
In 1948, a body was washed up on a beach in Australia. Despite a wealth of forensics, no one ever came forward to identify the man.
In 2011, witnesses claimed that they saw Orlando Nembhard shoot and kill a man outside a nightclub in Chandler, Arizona. The only problem was that Orlando’s identical twin was also present at the time.
A man named Anthony Wright served 20 years of jail time for the r a p e and murder of 77-year-old Louise Talley, the court to reexamined the forensic evidence.
When it comes to solving serious criminal cases such as murder, investigators often rely on forensic evidence. They use a number of techniques, such as fingerprinting and DNA testing, with the hope of finding and nailing a perpetrator. Sometimes it works, but other times it just doesn't.
Check out this gallery to find out which cases forensic science has failed to solve.
Mysteries forensics couldn't crack
When science failes to solve the crime
LIFESTYLE Science
When it comes to solving serious criminal cases such as murder, investigators often rely on forensic evidence. They use a number of techniques, such as fingerprinting and DNA testing, with the hope of finding and nailing a perpetrator. Sometimes it works, but other times it just doesn't.
Check out this gallery to find out which cases forensic science has failed to solve.