A cold case turns hot after 30 years

ABSTRACT

On the 5 January 1983, 10-year-old Louise Bell was abducted while she slept in her bedroom, south of Adelaide. Louise was never seen again. This high profile case had a significant impact on the lives of Louise’s friends and family, as well as the general public of South Australia. The case remained unsolved for over 30 years. In November 2016, Dieter Pfennig was convicted for the abduction and murder of Louise Bell. Forensic Short Tandem Repeat (STR) typing performed as part of a cold case examination was a crucial element to solving this case. The case is of broader interest since it reflects the developments in forensic genetic STR typing over the last decade, particularly in the methodologies for evaluation of the evidence. This case marks the end of the ‘Low Copy Number’ (LCN) debate.

KEYWORDS:

• Cold case
• international cooperation
• LCN
• low copy number

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge all laboratory and scientific staff at FSSA and NFI who contributed to the analytical process, and the international forensic advisors of the NFI, who facilitated the international cooperation. In addition, the authors acknowledge the many SAPOL and ODPP staff members involved in the investigation and subsequent judicial process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this study.