Tag: Cold Cases

Navy Spouse Jovita Collazo Disappeared from San Diego, California; 23 Years Later Found Murdered; Michael Richardson Convicted, Life Sentence (April 30, 1992)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Child Abuse, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, NavyLeave a comment
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Jovita Collazo, California

ID Go: Apple Valley in California’s Mojave Desert is the perfect place to hide a secret. When the body of an unidentified Jane Doe is discovered there in 1994, it takes almost two decades to bring a twisted tale of love, jealousy, and a horrible crime to light. -A Girl Has No Name, Who Killed Jane Doe? (S2, E2)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.

Related Links:
DNA hit solves 1992 murder-mystery
Remains of Jovita Collazo Found After 23 Years
Remains Identified as National City Woman Missing Since 1992
Human remains identified as missing woman last seen in 1992
Remains found in California in 1994 ID’d as missing Filipina
Bones found over 2 decades ago identified as missing Pinay
Bones found over 2 decades ago identified as missing Pinay 2
Skeletal remains of missing Pinay found after 23 years
Body of Calif. woman identified two decades later
Body of woman who vanished in 1992 found in desert
Body of woman who vanished in 1992 found in desert
Body of missing Filipina in Calif. identified over two decades later
Slain Body of Jovita Collazo Found Decades Ago in a Desert Grave IDd in CA
Man accused of killing wife and mother-in-law charged with murdering girlfriend
New charges against husband accused of double slaying
Cab Driver Attacked by Murder Suspect Michael Eugene Richardson Tells His Story
Man stands trial for three murders
Richardson to Stand Trial for 3 Murders and Statutory Rape of Niece, Judge Rules
Preliminary hearing begins for man accused in three murders
Testimony Begins for Poway Businessman Accused of Killing Wife
Niece Testifies In Hearing For Man Charged With 3 Murders
Man admits killing wife, her mother
Chula Vista Man Admits to Killing 3 Women
Admitting 3 murders means life sentence
Former Poway Business Owner Pleads Guilty to 3 Murders
Man pleads guilty to three murders, including wife and mother-in-law
San Diego man gets 6 life terms for triple murders
A Girl Has No Name | Who Killed Jane Doe? | Investigation Discovery (S2, E2)

Navy Chief Petty Officer Mervin ‘Sonny’ Grotton Shot & Killed at Home in Maine; Wife Norma Small Convicted of Murder for Hire & Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison (1983)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, NavyLeave a comment
GROTTON
Sonny Grotton, US Navy

Norma Small was arrested in May 2001 and then charged with murder for the shooting death of her husband US Navy Chief Petty Officer Sonny Grotton, at his home in Belfast, Maine on December 16, 1983. She was accused of hiring someone for $10,000 to murder him, convicted, and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Norma felt Sonny was worth more dead than alive. Investigators believed the crime was financially motivated. If Sonny died, Norma would get a death benefit from the Navy, the real estate that she owned with Sonny, and she received a monthly payment from the VA that over 15 or 17 years had amounted to almost $100,000.

Related Links:
“48 Hours: NCIS” sneak peek: The Sting
Sneak peek: 48 Hours: NCIS
“48 Hours: NCIS”: The Sting | CBS News
Preview – Broken Honor | The Investigators
Broken Honor | The Investigators
Belfast case on ‘48 Hours: NCIS’ June 13
48 Hours Premiered ’48 Hours: NCIS – The Sting’ on CBS (2017)
CBS “48 Hours” Episode Investigates Notorious Belfast Murder
TV crew visits Belfast for episode on infamous 1980s murder for hire case
‘48 Hours’ to air episode tonight on murder of Belfast’s Sonny Grotton
‘Cosmic joke’: Son doesn’t want another depiction of his father’s murder
Brooks man pleads innocent to murder in 17-year-old fatal shooting
CBS to air program on NCIS investigation into infamous Belfast murder
48 Hours: NCIS – Firm Resolve and Dedication!
State of Maine v. Norma Small (2003)


A tattooed NCIS agent with a black belt goes undercover to find the killer of a Navy petty officer — can he get what he needs without getting caught? Watch Tuesday, June 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. -48 Hours

Army Major Chester Barrett Murdered By Estranged Wife Lisbeth & Step-Son for Military Survivor Benefits; Both Sentenced to Prison 35+ Years Later (1977)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military PolicyLeave a comment
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Major Chester Barrett, US Army

Army Major Chester Barrett was found murdered in a desert area in east El Paso, Texas on January 4, 1977. Investigators opened a murder investigation but exhausted all leads and the case went cold for over 35 years. In 2006, the case was reopened by the El Paso Police Department and new tips came in. Investigators would learn that Major Garrett’s wife Lisbeth enlisted the help of her son Roger in a plot to kill him. The pair were arrested and charged with Major Garrett’s murder. At trial, Roger confessed that he and his mother asked his step-father to come to their house to fix the dishwasher. As Major Garrett was leaning over the dishwasher, Roger struck him in the head with a baseball bat; he says his mother then stabbed him several times. Prosecutors said the motive to kill Major Garrett was to collect the money from his military survivor benefits.

Major Garrett and Lisbeth were in the midst of a divorce when the homicide occurred; Major Garrett was living in Officer’s Quarters at Fort Bliss. Lisbeth was accused of using her 18 year old child to lure Major Garrett to the marital home because she wanted to kill him. A witness testified at trial that divorcees of active duty Army officers could not get benefits but widows could get survivor benefits from the Army for the rest of their lives. Roger Garrett was convicted of murder for his part in the crime in 2013; he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Former high school teacher Lisbeth Garrett, 76, was found guilty of homicide in 2015; she was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Roger Garrett appealed his murder conviction but the case was denied by the Texas Court of Appeals.

“Maj. Chester Garrett served four tours in Vietnam and, while with the 5th Special Forces Group, earned the U.S. military’s second-highest award for valor. According to officials, Garrett was a Special Forces advisor to a Vietnamese strike force on a search and destroy mission near the Cambodian border.” –The Fayetteville Observer

Related Links:
Website: Major Chester Garrett
Pair charged for 1977 murder of U.S. Army officer
2 arrested in 1977 cold case murder of Texas Army officer
Chester Garrett, Army Major Killed In 1977, Was Murdered By Wife And Stepson: El Paso Sheriff
Wife and stepson are charged with army veteran’s murder 36 YEARS later after brother claims he was forced to scrub his father’s blood off the garage floor
Mother, Son Held in 1977 Fort Bliss Slaying
Man convicted of murder in 1977 slaying of Army officer
Man convicted of murder in 1977 slaying of Army officer (2)
Roger Garrett Gets 40 Years In Prison For Killing Stepfather
El Paso sheriff’s deputies search home of woman charged with murder in 36-year-old cold case
Lisbeth Garrett murder trial: Witness says she was “suspicious”
Former teacher found guilty in husband’s murder
Woman found guilty in husband’s 1977 murder
Lisbeth Garrett convicted in 1977 cold case murder
Woman faces 99 years in slaying of Green Beret
45 years in prison for Lisbeth Garrett
Garrett sentenced to 45 years in cold case murder
Lisbeth Garrett sentenced to 45 years in prison
Lisbeth Garrett sentenced to 45 years in prison in husband’s 1977 murder
Woman sentenced to 45 years for role in 1977 Texas slaying
Woman sentenced to 45 years for role in 1977 Texas slaying (2)
Ex-Eastwood teacher given 45 years for husband’s murder
Son who turned in Lisbeth Garrett reacts to 45 year sentence
Lisbeth Garrett tries to avoid ABC-7 Camera
Lisbeth Garrett Found Guilty of Murder
45 years in prison for Lisbeth Garrett
Roger Garrett vs. State of Texas Court of Appeals (2015)
Appeal of murder conviction in 1977 case denied
12 honored by Fort Bragg special operations community
Dedication of the Major Chester Garrett Dining Facility


45 years in prison for Lisbeth Garrett -KVIA.com

HS Student Carol Hutto Found Dead in Largo, Florida Pond; Boyfriend & Navy P.O. James Kuenn Sentenced to Life in Prison 2 Decades Later (1976)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Navy1 Comment
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Carol Hutto, Florida (1976)

Navy Petty Officer James Kuenn, 40, was found guilty on February 9, 2000 for the first-degree murder of his teen girlfriend Carol Hutto on December 13, 1976 in Largo, Florida. Carol Hutto’s half-brother found her dead in a pond in the neighborhood; she was weighed down with cement blocks. An autopsy revealed Carol was hit and strangled, lost consciousness, and then thrown in the water alive. Initially, police suspected Carol’s half-brother committed the crime but they did not have enough evidence to charge him so the case went unsolved for nearly two decades. Then in 1994, two Largo Police Department investigators reopened the cold case.

The detective’s determination to find the killer led them to a former Largo resident who by then was an eleven year Navy veteran stationed at U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. In 1996, DNA testing was making it’s way into police departments across the country so the investigators submitted several unknown hairs to the FBI lab. But they needed a sample of Kuenn’s DNA to see if it was a match. Investigator’s obtained a search warrant to get the DNA via a blood sample and used the interrogation to elicit a confession while they waited for the results. Since Kuenn was active duty Navy, detectives brought in the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) in Mayport, Florida to assist with the interrogation.

On July 15, 1998, the NCIS used the interrogation to push Kuenn into a confession. Investigators had no physical evidence linking Kuenn to the scene but that didn’t stop them from bluffing and hoping Kuenn would cave. Kuenn eventually admitted to investigators that the whole thing was an accident and he brought Carol to the lake to cover up the crime. Kuenn claimed that Carol tripped and fell and became unconscious so he took off her clothes to make it look like someone else did it. Despite Kuenn’s tears, detectives believed he was lying because Carol’s injuries did not come from an accidental trip and fall; they came from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Kuenn was charged with murder, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years.

“Kuenn recalled the fateful night when he and Carol met at the house under construction. They kissed but the young woman was reluctant to have sex with him. As she struggled, her screams rang out through the foggy night air. Kuenn, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, hit her with a 2 by 4 to quiet her. He then dumped her in the pond, where she drowned, according to the autopsy.” –Tampa Bay Times

Related Links:
Teenager Murdered
Family and friends mourn murdered girl
Police stymied in Hutto murder case
Two Men Now Sought In Murder Of Carol Hutto
Unsolved Homicides Leave Legacy Of Pain
Sailor charged in 1976 death, jailed without bail
Sailor admits killing friend
After 24 years, he’s found guilty
Man Sentenced to Life in 1976 Slaying
Jury rejects accidental death claim, convicts man for 1976 murder
The victim’s mother lectures the killer, sentenced to life
TV show to look at ’76 Largo murder
TV show to detail search for killer
Police work of Jackson native to be featured on Investigation Discovery’s ‘Swamp Murders’
The Carol Hutto Case
Cold Case Files: Carol’s Diary | A&E
Swamp Murders: We Miss You Darling
Cold Case Files: Carol’s Diary


16-year-old Carol Hutto is a dependable friend, daughter and sister. She’s a good student, loves wrestling and hanging out with friends. So when she misses her curfew one evening, her mother knows something awful has happened. -Swamp Murders

Holloman Air Force Base Airman Rudy Victor Disappeared; Remains Found in Montana in 1982 Match Rudy Victor’s DNA (June 15, 1974)

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A1C Rudy Victor, US Air Force

Officials with Holloman Air Force Base say that a 43-year-old cold case involving an AWOL Airman has come to a close after investigators were able to match DNA and dental records to remains found in the Montana wilderness in 1982 to the missing airman. Airman First Class Rudy Redd Victor, 20, from Shiprock, NM was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base in 1974 when he was awarded leave to visit family in Arizona and Colorado.

Witness reports indicate the last location of Victor was near the Wolf Creek Rest area in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. Shortly thereafter, Victor went missing and he was categorized as AWOL by the U.S. Air Force after he failed to return to duty in June 1974…According to the Lewis and Clark Sheriff’s Office and Lewis and Clark County Coroner, Airman Victor’s death was most likely due to suicide [on or about June 15, 1974].

Read more: El Paso Proud

Related Links:
Obituary: Rudy Redd Victor
Montana “Cold Case” remains identified as an AF member
Remains in 43-year-old Montana ‘cold case’ ID’d as Holloman Airman
Holloman Airman who vanished identified 43 years later in Montana
Missing airman ID’d as remains found in Wolf Creek canyon in 1980s
Remains identified as those of missing Holloman Airman, 43-year-old cold case solved
From cold case to case closed: Remains in Montana solve decades-old mystery
Officials determine remains found in Wolf Creek in ’80s belonged to missing airman
Missing airman’s remains identified — 43 years after he went missing
Officials ID remains of airman who vanished in Montana
Remains ID’d of US airman who vanished in Montana in 1974
Remains of Shiprock airman identified in Montana cold case
Montana Cold Case Solved Through NamUs Hit