“I picked up the baby, Odetta, in my arms,” said Wilkes-Barre police detective Thomas Bird, his eyes staring into space like he was seeing a ghost and I wasn’t there. That March day we talked almost 30 years ago marked the first time in 22 years the cop whom colleagues called “T-Bird” publicly shared his […]
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown knows the terrible details of Juanita Todd’s story. City Police Chief Joe Coffay does, too. So does Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce. In addition to these three public officials, I also sent emails and my first five columns about the 1972 unsolved Wilkes-Barre murder of Juanita Todd to Wilkes-Barre city […]
Douglas “Bay” DeGraffenreid swears he didn’t kill Juanita Todd. What if he is innocent? More than 50 years ago police in Wilkes-Barre, PA, privately called DeGraffenreid their only suspect. Just because you’re a suspect doesn’t mean you’re guilty. But, if DeGraffenreid is an innocent man, why did he borrow money and flee to Los Angeles, […]
Black and full of faith, Mimi Todd’s great-grandchildren Dione and Amanda dance gracefully beside the Mt. Zion Church pulpit to religious hymns playing over well-worn speakers. Smooth movements proclaim God’s majestic spirit as the young people wave skyward and say goodbye. Dressed in matching red robes adorned with two wide white stripes that shape a […]
Blood. Fibers. Hair. A knife. A blood-spattered coin. Suspects. Evidence means everything in a homicide investigation. Police and prosecutors need physical evidence, circumstantial evidence, new and old evidence – all the evidence they can gather to solve a murder case. Evidence shapes the soul of hope for justice in the more than 50 years since […]
