Summer of Terror
By Austin and Evan
Basic Rundown of the Case
Two brothers commit a string of crimes within a month of each other. First, they burned down a synagogue, then murdered a homosexual couple in their sleep, and lastly they burned down a clinic performing abortions. The case was solved with a large accumulation of trace evidence left behind by the two brothers.
The Investigation Begins
The first break in the case occurred when one of the homosexual men’s credit cards were used to buy ammunitions after their death. The police observed the two culprits picking up the ammo that had been bought with the dead man’s credit card. Both were arrested soon afterwards, and their homes were searched. One of the weapons they confiscated turned out to be the same gun used to kill the two men in their sleep.
The brothers were arrested for murder.When the police were given further permission to search the brothers’ homes, they found the same oil bottles used in the arson of the synagogue. Blue jumpsuits were found with the bottles, which were suspected to have been worn by the two brothers when they committed their crimes. Those jumpsuits still had traces of broken glass, fibers and DNA on them that matched the two brothers to the crimes they had committed.
There was also further trace evidence found in the brothers’ car and on their tools, such as broken glass, paint chips, fibers and newspaper, thay proved that they had committed the crime.
Daubert Hearing
A Daubert Hearing is where a judge reviews each individual piece of evidence before it is presented before a jury to see whether it is admissible in court. It usually takes place before the trial itself in the presence of the jury in a motion line setting. It determines which evidence the defense and prosecution will present before the jury in court
The Hearing
In subsequent case, the defense asked for a Daubert Hearing to determine if the evidence was valid under modern science practice. This was not fulfilled, and the two plead guilty before the case could go through