Old Cases

Carlyle Harris and Dr. Robert Buchanan had several things in common. Both worked in the medical field, with Harris a medical student and Buchanan a practicing physician. Both lived in New York City in the early 1890s. And both had wives they didn't want. An exploration of two cases of historical forensics and murder in 5,000 words.

A True Crime Shortie of 6,000 words... about the length of a long magazine article Yeah, they've mostly been superceded by DNA lately. But back in the day, there was nothing like a good clear fingerprint to get a law enforcement officer's blood moving. Here are four true crime fingerprint cases pulled from history. 1. The first crimes solved through fingerprints... includes Francesca Rojas (1892), Harry Jackson (1902), and the Mask Murders (1905). Yeah, three in one. 2. The Question Mark Burglar... an unbelievable case from 1920. 3. When the victim's fingerprints count the most... the Urschel kidnapping case from 1933. 4. Beyond bizarre... the strange case of cop-killer George Ross (1951). Old Cases: where forensics meet history.