Back in 1987, two young women were murdered and sexually abused in separate attacks in Kent, England. The authorities were able to collect evidence from both crime scenes, but due to DNA analysis being still in its infancy, the killer remained unidentified for decades—likely thinking they got away with it.

“Even the devil itself would be disgusted in what that thing has done.”

Those were the words of 6-year-old Alesha MacPhail’s mother when she spoke about her daughter’s killer. Three years have passed since Alesha was taken from her room in the middle of the night and brutally murdered less than 15 minutes away from her home.

When a person is found dead, determining their identity is one of the first things to do. Depending on the case and the circumstances, the police can use several different methods to find out who the deceased was. Nowadays, DNA is an obvious route for identification, but if the person or their family members are not in the database, the method is useless. Then there are things like fingerprints and dental records, but just like DNA, the person’s information needs to be in the register.

The brutal murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 caused nationwide shock and found its way to international headlines due to gruesome details of the crime. Right from the start, Gardai had two main suspects, but overall, more than ten people might have played a role in this unimaginable killing.

Losing your child suddenly and violently is heart-breaking enough, but not having the possibility to lay them to rest is a different kind of torture. 5-year-old April Jones’ parents know who took their daughter from them, but they still do not know what happened to their child or where her remains are.
able to trust to maintain safety and enforce laws to keep up community quality of life. But once in a while, it happens that a police officer breaks their oath and takes advantage of the position to do the exact opposite.