# Oldest solved cold case? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859 "2018-10-12T15:49:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/1 "2018-10-12T15:49:53Z")
The oldest solved cold case was widely believed to have been the [murder of Maria Ridulph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Maria_Ridulph), but it turned out the man they eventually found and convicted in 2012 for her murder was exonerated, released, and officially declared innocent in 2017. In about ten minutes of Googling I’ve been able to find [this article](http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ln-wendy-halison-cold-case-adv-20170826-htmlstory.html) about the murder of Wendy Jo Halison, solved after 48 years. Then I found [this one](https://komonews.com/news/local/bellevues-oldest-cold-case-murder-solved-after-51-years) about the murder of Loren Sundholm, solved after 51 years, but the suspect died in 2009. Is there an older one? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/2 "2018-10-12T17:16:33Z")
Didn’t they prove that Napoleon was poisoned in exile based on analysis of his hair over a century later? I guess the actual perpetrator would be hard to nail down. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/3 "2018-10-12T17:48:31Z")
As I recall they’re pretty sure the “Ice man” found frozen in the alps met with foul play, though they certainly have no suspects and I’m not even sure murder was a crime back then ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/4 "2018-10-12T17:58:11Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > As I recall they’re pretty sure the “Ice man” found frozen in the alps met with foul play But at least you’ve been exonerated, right, **OldGuy**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/5 "2018-10-12T18:35:31Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Didn’t they prove that Napoleon was poisoned in exile based on analysis of his hair over a century later? I guess the actual perpetrator would be hard to nail down. It’s likely that he was poisoned by toxic chemicals in the wallpaper, and was just one of many victims. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7bklpWKpfp0C&pg=PA101&redir\_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7bklpWKpfp0C&pg=PA101&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/6 "2018-10-12T18:48:17Z")
OP: do you have any restrictions? For example there have been a lot of death bed confessions. So the crime is solved but the perp is not punished. Or other cases where the crime is solved after the perp is dead (his wife comes forward then…). Or do you want to limit it to cases where the perp is tried and convicted? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/7 "2018-10-12T19:25:52Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > OP: do you have any restrictions? > > For example there have been a lot of death bed confessions. So the crime is solved but the perp is not punished. Or other cases where the crime is solved after the perp is dead (his wife comes forward then…). Or do you want to limit it to cases where the perp is tried and convicted? Not really any restrictions, but we can’t go on a deathbed confession alone, there would have to be corroborating evidence. I’m satisfied as long as investigators and/or officials are convinced that they know who the perp is and have enough evidence to be able to present a plausible and compelling case to a jury, _even if it was actually heard by a jury and the prosecution lost_ (see: OJ Simpson; he won his defense, but c’mon, we all know he did it). The perp does not need to have been successfully prosecuted. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/8 "2018-10-12T19:42:25Z")
IIRC there’s a _History Channel_ documentary wherein a modern forensicist concludes that Queen Cleopatra’s poisoning in the time of Caesar Augustus was _not_ a suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/9 "2018-10-12T19:58:56Z")
The Romanovs (the family that ruled Russia before the Communist revolution) were murdered in 1917. While there was no real doubt what happened to them, it wasn’t until 1993 that an actual, official investigation took place and made an official proclamation of the murder and (generally) how it took place, and who all was involved. 76 years. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/10 "2018-10-12T20:36:57Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > IIRC there’s a _History Channel_ documentary wherein a modern forensicist concludes that Queen Cleopatra’s poisoning in the time of Caesar Augustus was _not_ a suicide. The _History Channel_ is the TV equivalent of a tabloid newspaper. I think you need a better cite. That said, hasn’t the Jack the Ripper mystery been solved like a dozen or so times? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/11 "2018-10-12T21:31:01Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > But at least you’ve been exonerated, right, **OldGuy**? 😃 He was shot in the back with an arrow while fleeing the authorities. So they claim in a cave drawing filed at the time… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/12 "2018-10-13T13:00:27Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > The _History Channel_ is the TV equivalent of a tabloid newspaper. I think you need a better cite. Right, if they say Cleopatra didn’t off her self, you can safely assume she did. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/13 "2018-10-13T13:53:06Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The Romanovs (the family that ruled Russia before the Communist revolution) were murdered in 1917. While there was no real doubt what happened to them, it wasn’t until 1993 that an actual, official investigation took place and made an official proclamation of the murder and (generally) how it took place, and who all was involved. > > 76 years. Nitpick: A body was missing from the Romanov grave! — It might have been Anastasia’s: > [@](#): > > Forensic expert William R. Maples decided that the Tsarevitch Alexei and Anastasia’s bodies were missing from the family’s grave. Russian scientists contested this conclusion, however, claiming it was the body of [Tsarevitch] Maria that was missing. The Russians identified the body as that of Anastasia by using a computer program to compare photos of the youngest grand duchess with the skulls of the victims from the mass grave. They estimated the height and width of the skulls where pieces of bone were missing. American scientists found this method inexact. However, at about the same time it was demonstrated with DNA that the impostor Anastasia was NOT the Grand Duchess. I found it interesting that the mtDNA chosen for comparison with the alleged Anastasia was taken from Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth Dei Gratia. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/14 "2018-10-13T14:06:44Z")
One good candidate for very old solved case — though solution is still not generally accepted — involves the authorship of a certain 1609 book of poetry. [_ **The dedication of the book makes it clear that the poet was deceased in 1609.** _](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/SonnetsDedication.jpg) The poet’s identity, though known to dozens, was an official secret and the knowledge was allowed to dwindle away. The author was finally re-indentified in 1920, over three centuries later! ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/15 "2018-10-13T15:02:16Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Nitpick: A body was missing from the Romanov grave! — It might have been Anastasia’s: > > Quote: > Forensic expert William R. Maples decided that the Tsarevitch Alexei and Anastasia’s bodies were missing from the family’s grave. Russian scientists contested this conclusion, however, claiming it was the body of [_ **Tsarevitch** _] Maria that was missing. [snip] > > However, at about the same time it was demonstrated with DNA that the impostor Anastasia was NOT the Grand Duchess. I found it interesting that the mtDNA chosen for comparison with the alleged Anastasia was taken from Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth Dei Gratia. Nitpick: the title for Maria and Anastasia is _ **Tsarevna** _, which is often translated as “Grand Duchess”, but apparently a closer translation would be “Royal Princess” and means that they’re the Tsar’s daughters. _ **Tsarevitch** _ is the title for the male heir. > **[Russian Royal Titles | World History](https://worldhistory.us/russian-history/russian-royal-titles.php)** Yes, interesting that Prince Philip’s mtDNA was used. His grandmother and Tsarina Alexandra were sisters, so the Romanov children were his mother’s first cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/16 "2018-10-13T15:36:59Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Nitpick: A body was missing from the Romanov grave! — It might have been Anastasia’s: > However, at about the same time it was demonstrated with DNA that the impostor Anastasia was NOT the Grand Duchess. I found it interesting that the mtDNA chosen for comparison with the alleged Anastasia was taken from Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth Dei Gratia. While this is just speculation, if the body is missing I would suspect that all that tells us is that the 17 year old girl was separated out, by the young male soldiers, and dealt with differently than the rest. I wouldn’t take it as a glimmer of hope that she survived. I’d take it as a gruesome reminder that it’s always possible to be a little bit more evil. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/17 "2018-10-13T16:20:32Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Then I found [this one](https://komonews.com/news/local/bellevues-oldest-cold-case-murder-solved-after-51-years) about the murder of Loren Sundholm, solved after 51 years, but the suspect died in 2009. > > Is there an older one? Interesting stuff, although I might point out that the Sundholm case was far from proven. The newly pointed out evidence was purely circumstantial. I think they got it right but it might not have proven the case in court. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/18 "2018-10-13T16:33:02Z")
Here’s another 51 year old cold case solved earlier this year. The probable killer is dead; the victim, Louise Pietrewicz, was missing since 1966 and her remains were found buried in his basement and identified this March. > **[Southold remains confirmed to be Louise Pietrewicz, missing since 1966 - The...](https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2018/04/southold-remains-confirmed-louise-pietrewicz-missing-since-1966/)** > > Family members said Tuesday that DNA swabs taken from Ms. Pietrewicz's brother and only child proved a match to the remains found last month. > **[She was missing for 51 years, then this paper took up the case - Poynter](https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2018/she-was-missing-for-51-years-then-this-paper-took-up-the-case/)** > > From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their careers. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/19 "2018-10-13T17:32:05Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > IIRC there’s a _History Channel_ documentary wherein a modern forensicist concludes that Queen Cleopatra’s poisoning in the time of Caesar Augustus was _not_ a suicide. Well, that’s pretty bogus, as they have never found her tomb. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859/20 "2018-10-13T17:32:53Z")
This isn’t quite so old, but recent: > [@](#): > > Published on Sep 13, 2017 > A cold case that has kept investigators up at night for four decades all but came to a close with one man’s guilty plea. Lloyd Welch, a 60-year-former carnival worker entered the plea in court 42 years after the disappearance of Katherine and Sheila Lyon. The girls vanished in 1975 from a suburban Maryland mall. Welch was sentenced to 48 years in prison as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. [InsideEdition.com](http://InsideEdition.com)’s Leigh Scheps ([http://twitter.com/LeighTVReporter](http://twitter.com/LeighTVReporter)) has more. Wendy Jo Halison's murderer was dead 4 years by the time the case was solved, according to OP article. (1968-2017 - 49 years) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-solved-cold-case/822859.md?page=2)