The Jerry Watson 30 year old murder case - Research Paper Example

Fingerprints from car were also recorded.. However, these initial investigations could not provide any lead towards the identification of the murderer. The case could not be solved then. However, this case was reopened again and Laura Casey started the job of examining the old fingerprints for any fresh leads. The FBI’s “Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System” proved a boon for the case to go ahead, as Casey was able to pinpoint a few suspects within very short time. While Jerry Watson was serving his term in the jail, Herout could identify him as the murderer, a few days before his scheduled release.

The trial against Watson started after almost 30 years of the crime. The new technology that was incorporated with the finger print identification system helped the detective to name the culprit. While the stolen car was found a few blocks away from Watson residence, it further confirmed the senior detective Herout’s doubt about Watson being the killer. . In addition, the latest DNA matching technique also helped the detectives involved in this case to identify the killer. Case overview and summary Although the murder of Carroll Bonnet remained mystery and the case was stuck in the old files’ cabinet for almost 30 years, the new technology of fingerprint identification helped the senior detective Herout and his collogue Laura Casey to identify the killer and provide justice to the departed soul.

Crime details During 1978, the victim Carroll Bonnet was brutally murdered in his apartment. As the killer had tried to wash off the evidence and bloodstains, police investigators collected finger and palm prints from the apartment’s bathroom. The initial investigation also revealed that car belonging to victim was stolen. (30-Year-Old Murder Solved, nd) Initial investigation The investigating team processed finger and palm prints collected from the victim’s bathroom. However, they could not reach any conclusion and in the absence of any lead, the case just lingered on.

The stolen car was found in Illinois and investigators collected latent finger and other prints from it. The evidence collected and the finger as well as the latent prints could not match with any record in the state and local criminal fingerprint files. Faced with such a situation, the investigators made enquiries from agencies outside Nebraska, for finding any possible matches. However, nothing worthwhile was found. This resulted in the case to remain cold for almost three decades. (Michelle, 2012) Case reinvestigated An enquiry received by the Omaha Police department, during second half of 2008 prompted for the case reopening.

There was a reason to start the investigations