WBRZ - Baton Rouge

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• Fingerprints collected in Calif. girl's slaying

  April 29, 2013 9:05 AM

  SAN FRANCISCO- Sheriff's officials say investigators have collected fingerprints and what they believe is DNA from the home where an 8-year-old Northern California girl was stabbed to death. Calaveras County Sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo tells the Modesto Bee authorities hope to have lab results on the evidence in a week.... more »

• Baker police arrest suspect in Popeye's robbery

  April 3, 2013 11:41 AM

  BAKER - Police arrested 19-year-old Laurance Kevin Scott Wilson in connection with an armed robbery of a Popeye's Fried Chicken restaurant in Baker. The robbery took place on March 9 at the Popeye's located at 1940 Main Street. Police say two black men entered the restaurant and took... more »

• Cold case grant leads to murder arrest Play Video

  March 26, 2013 4:09 PM

  GONZALES - Deputies in Ascension Parish said DNA evidence from the rape and murder of Jeannie Lavigne helped them make an arrest 23 years after the crime was committed. Detectives arrested Kenneth Lavigne, the nephew of the victim's ex-husband, in suspicion of aggravated rape and first-degree murder. Ryan... more »

• Supreme Court considers DNA collection case Play Video

  February 26, 2013 5:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The US Supreme Court is deciding if police have the right to collect DNA evidence without a warrant during an arrest. Right now, Louisiana law allows police to collect DNA when someone is arrested for a felony or some violent misdemeanors. "It allows us to bring... more »

• Official: Family has identified Rivera remains

  December 13, 2012 1:00 PM

  MONTERREY, Mexico - A state official says Jenni Rivera's family has identified the remains of the Mexican-American music star killed in plane crash. Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said DNA tests are still pending. The singer's remains will be given to the family once the tests are completed... more »

• Crime lab stats: matching DNA

  December 4, 2012 9:41 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The State Police Crime Lab helped break a cold case murder and two people face charges for a killing nearly 30 years ago. It's just one of the hundreds of cases lab techs are cracking each day. So far, there have been 935 potential matches on... more »

• BRPD: DNA analysis cracks 1984 cold case Play Video

  December 3, 2012 3:17 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Police in Baton Rouge announced two arrests in connection with a 1984 murder, after they said a cold case review and DNA analysis led them to the suspects. Police arrested Ronald Dunnagan, 64, of Bossier City and Leila Mulla, 57, of Astoria, N.Y. in connection with... more »

• Court will decide on collection of DNA samples

  November 9, 2012 2:31 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court says it will decide whether police may collect DNA samples from people under arrest in a case that pits privacy concerns against public safety interests. The justices say in an order Friday that they will review a Maryland court decision that effectively barred the collection... more »

• La. death row inmate cleared by DNA

  September 28, 2012 4:45 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A 38-year-old man wrongly convicted of raping and killing his step-cousin in 1997 was released Friday from Louisiana's death row after DNA tests found him to be innocent. Pam Laborde, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Corrections, said Damon Thibodeaux was released at about 12:30 p.m.... more »

• Body found in ice chest identified

  March 19, 2012 4:59 PM

  SLIDELL - The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's office has identified the body recently found in an ice chest stored in a Slidell woman's home. The coroner said the body was that of 83-year-old Charles Fisher. No cause of death has been determined. DNA was used to identify Fisher's... more »

• DNA brings conviction in 1996 rape in New Orleans

  February 17, 2012 8:38 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Orleans Parish district attorney says DNA from a rape 16 years ago has convicted a 35-year-old man of a sexual assault committed when he was 19. A jury in New Orleans convicted William Danastasio on Thursday of one count each of aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping.... more »

• BRPD: Hernandez still "potential suspect" in attack

  December 14, 2011 4:22 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Police said today that a man arrested for rape in Baton Rouge had not been ruled out from a second attack, as they had previously reported. Sgt. Don Kelly said "inaccurate information" was released that 18-year-old Allan Hernandez, who was arrested in suspicion of a rape... more »

• Deputy denied a chance to look at DNA evidence

  October 13, 2011 2:43 PM

  HOUMA, La. - A former Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's deputy's request to see DNA evidence from the investigation that led to his conviction on a sex charge has been rejected by a state district judge. Fifty-one-year-old Glenn Brunet was convicted in 2007 of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The former... more »

• Grand jury to get witness statements in fight case, no DNA tests

  September 19, 2011 10:06 PM

  BATON ROUGE- District Attorney Hillar Moore says when he takes the second-degree battery case involving LSU football players Jordan Jefferson and Josh Johns to a grand jury this week, he'll be bringing witness statements, but won't have DNA results. Moore says the tests done on both players shoes, following... more »

• DNA leads police to arrest in Tigerland armed robbery

  June 15, 2011 5:07 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A man is behind bars and another is on the run after an armed robbery and sexual assault at a Tigerland apartment, according to Baton Rouge Police. Sgt. Don Stone said Joseph Peter Morgan, 25, of Baton Rouge was arrested around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night. He's... more »

• AP sources: US used `multiple methods" to ID body

  May 2, 2011 2:00 PM

  WASHINGTON - The U.S. used multiple means to confirm the identity of Osama bin Laden during and after the firefight in which he was killed, before placing his body in the North Arabian Sea from aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier, senior U.S. officials said Monday. The al-Qaida leader was... more »

• Police: DNA doesn't match suspect arrested for bank robbery

  April 13, 2011 10:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Police say key evidence doesn't match a man arrested for a bank heist Tuesday. DNA from a mask and gloves found near a Chase Bank in Baton Rouge doesn't match the DNA of 23-year-old Jauan Swanson. Police quickly arrested him Tuesday, a little more than, 24... more »

• Expert: Harris' DNA found under Tate's fingernails

  April 5, 2011 3:04 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A DNA Expert from Texas told jurors DNA evidence from Greg Harris was found underneath Chiquita Tate's fingernails. That same expert also testified that a second unidentified man's DNA was also found under Tate's nails after she was murdered. Her husband, Greg Harris, is accused of... more »

• Money headed to local law enforcement to solve cold cases with DNA

  March 21, 2011 10:20 PM

  BATON ROUGE- More than 20 people have been killed in Baton Rouge so far this year. And now the special unit set-up to crack cases gets extra money to work on unsolved crimes. State Police are spreading almost $250,000 in federal grant money across four parishes, about half... more »

• Labadieville man arrested for rape of juvenile

  December 10, 2010 3:19 PM

  A 43-year-old man from Labadieville, accused of raping a juvenile and threatening to "kill her if she told anyone," is being held without bond in Assumption Parish. A 17-year-old girl told sheriff's deputies Johnell Nora (pictured above) raped her and made the threats. Additionally, she claims he had inappropriate... more »

• DNA matches in La. rapes from 1992, '93

  November 23, 2010 11:12 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans police and prosecutors say DNA matches have brought indictment against two men in separate rapes, one in 1993 and the other in 1992. The Times-Picayune reports that 48-year-old John Alexcee Jr. was indicted last week on charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping against a woman... more »

• LSU FACES lab identifying remains of young girl

  October 15, 2010 3:48 PM

  Members of the LSU FACES lab are working to identify the remains of a young girl found in Catahoula Parish, according to the school's newspaper. The Daily Reveille reported law enforcement called the school last Friday about a human skull a hunter found in the woods near Harrisonburg. A team... more »

• DNA testing getting faster

  September 30, 2010 6:19 PM

  An extra hand from Baton Rouge Police Department is helping the Louisiana State Police crime lab process DNA evidence fast. "The information that we gather here, as soon as something is discovered, there's a break in the case, there's information that we pull off from these analyses, we immediately... more »

• Police questioning two men about Beauregard home invasion

  September 28, 2010 10:34 PM

  Right now, two men are inside police headquarters facing a barrage of questions as investigators try to close the case on the murder of Alexandra Engler and the shooting of her 9-year-old daughter. Today, U.S. Marshals caught 20-year-old Aramis Jackson at a woman’s house in Violet near New Orleans.... more »

• Skeletal remains identified as Baton Rouge man

  September 8, 2010 10:56 AM

  Sheriff's detectives in East Baton Rouge Parish have identified human remains found under a bridge in July, but still don't know how or why they got there. DNA confirms the remains were of 46-year old Elvin Dalcourt Junior, of Baton Rouge. Evidence shows he died of a gunshot... more »

• IG: FBI's backlog reaches 3,200 forensic DNA cases

  August 9, 2010 11:58 AM

  The Justice Department's inspector general says the FBI laboratory has a backlog of more than 3,200 forensic DNA cases. The IG says such backlogs can delay legal proceedings and prevent the timely capture of criminals. The backlog has grown 130 percent in a single year to 276 cases... more »

• DNA clears Mansfield man in rape case

  June 26, 2010 9:26 AM

  An 18-year-old boy, who'd been in custody on a forcible rape charge for a year, has been freed from jail and is no longer accused of the crime. An attorney for Curtis D. Russell says DNA results cleared him and he was released late Wednesday. Russell was 17... more »

• DNA links suspect to 1999 rape

  April 2, 2010 6:14 AM

  A 49-year-old Covington man has been arrested in the 1999 rape of a Baton Rouge woman. Police say Zebedee Pittman allegedly raped a woman on June 25, 1999 after forcing his way into her home. Investigators say DNA evidence collected during a sexual assault examination was linked to Pittman last... more »

• Jeffery Lee Guillory requests new trial

  March 11, 2010 8:12 AM

  Jeffery Lee Guillory is asking for a new trial following his conviction on charges of attempted second-degree murder and second-degree robbery. Guillory was convicted Friday in the December 2007 attack on a Lafayette woman. He has been in jail since his January 2008 arrest in Baton Rouge on warrants out... more »

• DNA leads police to suspect in '87 rape

  February 25, 2010 7:37 AM

  Baton Rouge police have arrested a 50-year-old man after DNA evidence linked him to a rape that occurred more than 20 years ago. Police said Melvin Green is accused of raping a woman on May 8, 1987. The victim, who was 25 at the time of the rape, told detectives... more »

• 2 Your Health for Feb. 16

  February 16, 2010 5:45 PM

  DNA tests for heart disease, an easier way to screen for colon cancer, and a smelly diabetes drug are all discussed in this 2 Your Health report. more »

• DNA links suspect to January '96 rape

  February 4, 2010 6:34 AM

  A 45-year-old Baton Rouge man has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman 14 years ago. Colin D. Barton was booked on a charge of aggravated rape. Police say the rape occurred around 4 a.m. on January 27, 1996. According to police, Barton forced a woman to get into his... more »

• DNA breaks cold case

  January 4, 2010 8:11 PM

  DNA testing cracked a cold case in Utah where a young girl was stabbed to death 12-years ago. Matthew Breck is charged with murder and sexual abuse of a child. He was already in prison on an unrelated sexual-abuse charge involving another young girl in Idaho. Twelve-year old Anna Palmer... more »

• DNA connects man to 20-year-old rape cases

  December 16, 2009 5:14 PM

  Baton Rouge Police Detectives have arrested a man accused of committing four rapes back in the 1980’s. Leroy Bickham, 52, was linked through DNA to four rapes that occurred more than 20 years ago. He is accused of raping four victims from July 1985 to August 1987. Bickham was already... more »

• Yale lab tech released from custody

  September 16, 2009 7:40 AM

  07:39:09 Update: Police: Yale lab tech released from custody in investigation of graduate student's killing. Police in Connecticut say two search warrants for DNA and other physical evidence have been served at the apartment of Raymond Clark III, who is a person of interest in the murder of Yale University... more »