Ask Me Anything/ Paul Holes Cold Case Forensic Investigator/ Feb 27th at 8:00 PM Eastern.

[Tricia]

Johnny Joe Dillinger
I would like to know your thoughts on the Johnny Gosch case out of Des Moines Iowa in the early 80's. His mother feels like a pedophile ring took him and says he came back to visit her as an adult and said he was in hiding. There were three or maybe 4 paper boys who went missing in a relatively short time period in Des Moines. Just would like to know what you think of this case. Thanks!

 

[Tricia]

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[Paul Holes]

I have to admit I do not know of the Gosch case. I'm intrigued by the possibility of other victims that were also involved as paper boys. Though pedophile rings certainly exist, I would lean more towards a single offender being involved in the abduction of these boys if they are related. Individuals in pedophile rings have a tendency to get caught doing something illegal related to children and I imagine if they were aware of these missing boys they would use that info and point the finger at somebody else in the ring in an attempt to lessen their own penalty for whatever they were caught on especially considering these cases are now about 45 years old. However without more information I would be open to any possibility of what happened to these boys. All avenues would have to be explored and the investigators need to let the leads guide them in the right direction.

 

[Tricia]

Bear Fossils Paul: I’d love to know how the advances in forensics lately, specifically genetic genealogy, have impacted how you view criminology and cold cases in general. For example: new technology has allowed us to identify persons of interest which were previously unknown to investigators, including individuals who only committed one violent offense and then proceeded to live supposed “normal lives”, which goes against a lot of long held ideas about those types of offenders. Do you view unsolved cases in a different light now? And how do you think these advances will impact crime and law enforcement in the near future?

 

[Paul Holes]

The genealogy tool has brought to light to the “one off” offender. This offender commits a crime that appears to be predatory and if I were to evaluate the case prior to knowing who the offender is I would possibly think that it is a serial offender to only learn that the guy did this one crime and that was it. This “one off” offender needs to be studied like the serial killers for Mindhunter were studied. When I look at certain types of cases I now have to put more weight on the idea that the offender only committed this one crime. This is where genealogy is proving to be revolutionary at being able to solve crimes that would not be solved utilizing other technologies such as CODIS that is predicated on the repeat offender.

 

[Tricia]

Melt 71 On your speculation that there are 2,000 serial killers out there looking for victims. Are there any emerging systems or investigative techniques that will help identify killers in a more timely manner?

 

[Paul Holes]

Predators go to where the prey is at and law enforcement needs to go where the predators are and a lot of that today is in the online space. I do believe there needs to be more proactive efforts by law enforcement in the online space. We generally react when somebody becomes a victim but struggle to identify online predators before they hurt somebody. I know the FBI has had a variety of programs over the years but I'm not aware of anything at this point that law enforcement is doing in a proactive sense to identify the serial offender in the virtual world. Most certainly DNA technology including genealogy is a forensic technology that is getting faster and can identify the offenders quicker hopefully before they victimize again.

 

[Tricia]

Mass Guy Hi Paul. I was wondering if there were any updates in the Oakey Al Kite murder, which you covered in one of "The DNA of Murder" episodes.

 

[Paul Holes]

There's been additional efforts at genealogy to identify the offender. The genealogy process does continue to run into what are called brick walls in the family tree building because these trees keep ending back in Romania. There just isn't enough individuals from Romania in the databases to be able to find close enough relatives to be successful and pointing at who the offender is.

 

[Tricia]

@Turpin.Wilt I’d love to find a hobby that might make a difference in the world such as helping to investigate missing persons cases, cold cases, etc., but I’ve never done any real investigating of this sort.​

Do you have any recommendations as to how to get started (classes, resources, general advice, etc.)?

 

[Tricia]

Paul Holes has investigated so many interesting cases that he should write a book. Oh wait... He Did.
Unmasked My Life Solving America's Cold Cases

 

[Paul Holes]

It depends at what level you are thinking about. Many are trying to help doing the computer-based research. "Websleuths". A lot of that is learning how to do the online research. Right now I would just advise to pay attention to NAMUS, DNASolves, and find a case you are passionate about and start digging.

 

[Tricia]

Chypre asks
Thank you for your work on the Carla Walker case. If you can please share your insights into Fort Worth life at that time period that might help understand the Missing Trio case of Rachel Trlica, Renee Wilson, and Julie Mosely better.
Thank you.

 

[Paul Holes]

In the Carla Walker case I talked with investigators from 1974, I talked with friends of the Walker family, talked with current law enforcement and I got the sense that Fort Worth really was a small town or I would say had a small town feel just like many other locations across the United states. During this era I would say that it was a time of mostly innocence. Teenagers were allowed to go out at night party out in the middle of nowhere and at most were expected to be home by a certain time. The public was generally ignorant of the number of predators that actually existed during this time frame.

Though the missing trio occurred during the day I believe the "naive" public in Fort Worth possibly contributed to a lack of witnesses in this particular case. The girls were at a shopping mall and maybe were seen with an offender or multiple offenders but the other shoppers didn't pay attention. Hopefully there can be some progress made on this case as these families need to get their loved ones back.

 

[Tricia]

Hey, if you all like the fact that we have a fast server, no more ads, and events like Ask Me Anything, then please consider becoming a monthly subscriber to DNA Solves.com Help Families Get the Answers They Deserve

 

[Tricia]

@Lorenathered Is there one case that you most want see solved and will never give up on?​

 

[Paul Holes]

It's hard to limit it to one. First, the Cosette Ellison case I mentioned earlier. Second, what I call my White Whale case is the series out of Pittsburg, CA that include Lisa Norrell, Jessica Fredericks, Rachael Cruise, and Valerie Schultz. I'm very invested in that case. I will never forget being with Lisa at the morgue. A 15 yr old girl should never end up the way I saw her.

 

[Tricia]

@Ruminations​

two-part question:

1) What are some behaviors by internet detectives or commenters you find helpful to your work?

2) What are some behaviors that your find unhelpful or counterproductive?

 

[Paul Holes]

1) Provide relevant information about the case without expectations of updates or qui pro quo. Be friendly and be helpful. At some point the investigator may provide feedback as to what is going on.

2) Don't contaminate witnesses, families, even suspects. I had one GSK sleuth reach out to a very traumatized victim who called me in an absolute panic. Please don't do that.

 

[Tricia]

Chaz
Hi Paul,
With the advancement of DNA technology and the reliance on DNA evidence, are you not afraid for loss of other investigating skills?