DNA evidence has allegedly provided the link between a man who celebrated his 51st birthday this week and a three-decades-old crime. Joseph Allen Thornton is accused of the rape and murder of Blanca Stella Negrete, 21, who was killed June 27, 1981. more ›

Former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Stephanie Lazarus has been found guilty in the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, a nursing director who had recently married Lazarus' ex-boyfriend, John Ruetten. more ›

The controversial case against former Los Angeles police detective Stephanie Lazarus has moved ahead to the trial phase today, with the start of jury selection. Lazarus is the accused in the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen, a nursing director who had recently married Lazarus' ex-boyfriend, John Ruetten. more ›

These days, thanks to science and technology, your family tree isn't just something you can trace by a paper trail, DNA provides significant links among us. Now, a new bill proposed by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), would allow feds to conduct familial searches in DNA databases to solve cold cases. more ›

The Biebs went on Power 106 this week where he rapped with surprising proficiency over the Kanye West and Jay-Z collaboration "Otis" with his own fan-friendly, PG rhymes. more ›

Is Justin Bieber really a fan's baby daddy? Mariah Yeater says yes, and the Biebs says... well, he'd rather focus on music and not the gossip. Okay, fine. So it's no wonder Jimmy Fallon took a musical approach to the Bieber Baby Mama Drama last night, and came up with this spoof song "(It's Not My) Baby." more ›

DNA evidence has prompted the arrest of a 33-year-old Van Nuys man after he was linked to a 2002 rape, according to the Burbank Leader. Armen Shakhbazyan was arrested Thursday evening for his allegedly role in the rape of an unconscious 16-year-old girl at a South Glendale motel. more ›

District Attorney Steve Cooley announced today that he sent a letter to CA Attorney General Kamala Harris urging her to seek a state Supreme Court review of the appellate ruling earlier this month that prohibits officials from collecting arrestee DNA samples, according to a news release. more ›

Dry cleaners became suspicious and notified authorities when a blood-stained Dodgers jersey was dropped off at a local establishment, according to NBC LA. Deemed a possible link in the brutal beating case of Giants fan Bryan Stow, "Los Angeles Police took possession of the jersey and submitted it for DNA analysis. The results came back a match to Stow." more ›

Denim Day sounds like fun and games but those wearing jeans today are making more than a fashion statement. Denim Day in LA, and around the country, is part of an awareness campaign about rape and sexual violence stemming from an incident in "1999 when an Italian court overturned a rape conviction partially because the victim was wearing tight jeans - something the justices reasoned the suspect couldn't have removed without the victim's help," reports the Daily News. more ›

The Los Angeles Police Department have released details about a second arrest made in the murder of an elderly Venice woman that went unsolved for 33 years. The murder case of 80-year-old Alice Lewis, found dead in her home on December 18, 1975, was re-opened in 2009, following the submission of biological evidence for testing via methods not yet available during the original investigation. more ›

Your Creative Morning will be extra-delectable on December 17th. Alissa Walker, associate producer for KCRW's "DnA: Design and Architecture" and proprietor of Gelatobaby blog, has just been announced as the December speaker for Los Angeles/Creative Mornings. Walker was recently named as a USC/Annenberg Getty Arts Journalism Fellow for her writing on design and urbanism and she spends her time in L.A. tending to her drought-tolerant garden, walking all over the city and eating gelato. All without a car. Imagine that: L.A. without a car. Delicious. more ›

The investigation into the death of two infants whose skeletons found in the basement of a Westlake apartment building continues. Today the LAPD held a press conference to announce findings about the owner of the trunk in which the mummified remains were found. more ›

Suspected serial killer Lonnie Franklin was supposed to be swabbed for DNA while he was on probation for a felony, but it never happened. If it did, the alleged "Grim Sleeper" may have been caught, sparing at least one woman her life, finds the LA Times. more ›

Lonnie Franklin, Jr., the alleged "Grim Sleeper" serial killer arrested this week and charged with 10 murders, managed to avoid being sent to state prison despite being arrested at least 15 times in the past four decades, according to the Daily News. more ›

Back in 2008 when some 6,000 to 7,000 rape-kits were sitting on LAPD shelves untested, then-City Controller Laura Chick called it "disturbing" and "unacceptable" finding. The public agreed. Politicians, too. Now, the LAPD is finally getting close to going through the backlog and have 648 left to go, reports the Daily News. more ›

If all goes to plan at today's regularly scheduled meeting of the Los Angeles City Council, the massive backlog of DNA rape kits sitting on LAPD shelves--around 7,500 in Fall 2008--should be eliminated by June. A motion introduced by Council President Eric Garcetti and to be vote upon this morning seeks to hire and outsource enough personnel to complete the Spring-time goal. more ›

Thousands of rape kits waiting to be DNA tested and the ominous threat that 40,000 prisoners will be released onto the streets are expected to be dominating issues at today's Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council. more ›

Stephanie Lazarus, "a veteran Los Angeles police detective," faces murder charges with a special circumstance in the "1986 shooting death of Sherri Rasmussen, a hospital nursing director, at the victim's condo in Van Nuys," according to an AP report in the Huffington Post. The 49-year-old was arrested in February, and is scheduled to appear at a hearing today to determine "whether there is enough evidence against her in connection with the decades-old murder of her ex-boyfriend's wife." DNA evidence linked Lazarus to the crime, which also involves her alleged "personal use of a handgun." She "was arrested by detectives who worked across the hall from her," and now could face the death penalty. more ›

DNA evidence from a double murder 12 years ago has been linked to a suspect who is currently in a California prison. Back in September of 1997, the stabbing murders of 57-year-old Nancy Boehm and her mentally impaired 23-year-old son Shawn occurred in their North Hollywood home on the 5700 block of Riverton Avenue. Without any leads, the case remained unsolved. more ›

Thousands of rape kits still remain untested, finds a follow-up to a year-old audit that revealed some 7,500 rape kits sat untested on the shelves of LAPD labs. City Controller Wendy Greuel plans to release the the full findings tomorrow morning. Her office said today that the backlog has been reduced to 65%. However, Greuel says the Department’s record keeping is inconsistent, making it difficult to give entirely accurate numbers. In early October, it was reported that 3,157 kits were left to go with the full backlog completion due in the summer of 2011. more ›

Of the 5,123 back logged untested rape kits, a majority--3,800--of them have been closed "because detectives arrested someone, prosecutors refused to pursue the case, or police could not determine that a crime had been committed," the LAPD announced yesterday, per the LA Times. However, around 400 of those untested could lead to suspects. more ›

Following the shocking news, media pressure and community outrage of the 7,000 untested rape-kits sitting on LAPD shelves, the LAPD along with Mayor Villaraigosa and City Attorney hopeful Jack Weiss announced a plan to catch up on the DNA testing of rape-kits. Basically, political will and funding will be directed towards the crime lab. more ›

Although everyone can agree that it's unacceptable to have a backlog of 7,000 rape-kits over at the LAPD, the reality is resources, as in money. Who is to blame? Well, the politicians are at odds over that one, though in the end, there are a lot of factors from councilmembers, past and present, mayors and the LAPD. In the meantime, the Daily News looks into the sometimes long process to analyze just one rape-kit. It's never like a one-hour TV show: more ›

Yesterday was a cathartic day for LAPD's top dog, Chief William Bratton. In the same press conference where he admitted that the department's backlog of 7,000 rape-kits is a problem, he also spoke about the leaked-to-the-press report about shoddy fingerprint analyses that led to wrong accusations. Bratton, who emphasized that no case is solely based on fingerprints, has now convened a group of experts to form a taskforce on the issue in addition to moving the Scientific Investigation Division, responsible for fingerprinting, DNA (yes, rape-kits) and ballistics, from the Support Services Bureau to the Detectives Bureau. more ›

In response to City Controller Laura Chick's report on the LAPD's backlog of 7,000 untested rape-kits--over 200 of which are already past the statute of limitations--Chief William Bratton admitted the issue as a “tremendously important problem," at a press conference yesterday evening. Although Chick calls for fixing the problem in three years like New York City did when it had a backlog of 17,000 kits, Bratton's plan will clear the backup to zero by 2013... that is if the funding comes in, even though the program previously lost a half million dollars in an internal clerical error. Bratton's two prong plan basically grow the number of criminalists and lab techs by over 30 as well as contracting to DNA labs across the country. more ›

Nearly 7,000 rape-kits sit on LAPD freezer shelves awaiting testing with at least 217 of those past the statute of limitations, rendering them useless even if a rapist is identified by the DNA collected. "It is beyond disturbing that the thousands of victims who have undergone the invasive ordeal of these 4-6 hour tests do not even know that their evidence is still untested" wrote City Controller Laura Chick in an audit of the police department's rape-kit testing program. "One of the audit's findings calls out a Penal Code provision that requires the LAPD to make this notification to victims; the LAPD does not do that now." The 25-page report can be read here (.pdf). more ›

Two big news conferences are scheduled for Monday to present reports on the LAPD and not necessarily in a good light. First, at 11:00 a.m. on the steps of City Hall, City Controller Laura Chick will present her audit on the backlog of Forensic DNA rape-kits. It has been reported that their backlog is around 7,000 kits. That's thousands of chances to gather physical evidence and DNA that could help put criminals in jail. Chick's audit is expected to officially reaffirm those problems. more ›

One of those pesky quality of life complaints we hear a lot about are people who don't clean up after their dog. And trying to get the city to enforce a repeat violator is pretty hard too. You've got to catch the person in the act on film or photo, follow them to their home address or somehow obtain where they live, write a letter to the Department of Animal Services with the evidence and where this person lives. Then the city will send a letter telling that person you can't do that. If they continue, grab that camera for round two. more ›