John Helble Murder Case Study

Case of John Helble Murder (Hair)

Victim: John Helble

Suspects: Mike Hardy, Andrew Rich, and Sharon Schneider

What Happened: John Heble, the victim, was found in his home. HIs dog, Kisha, was not in the home when the police found the body. However, she was picked up miles from the crime scene. Police believed that Keisha was moved by the killer out of the home once they killed John. Andrew Rich, the leading suspect in the case let slip that he was going to Texas for some business to Sharon. In Texas, he sold an item of John’s that contained hairs. These hairs belonged to Kisha, linking Andrew Rich to the crime scene and finding him guilty of the murder of John.

Case of Claire Joseph’s Murder (Fiber)

Victim: Claire Joseph

Suspects: Bernard

There was no sign of forced entry into the Joseph’s home, which meant that Claire’s killer would have been someone she felt comfortable letting into her home. A recent friend of the Joseph’s, Roger Payne, had earlier convictions for attacks on women. His clothing from the day of the murder, although already cleaned, still contained over 60 wool fibers matching Claire Joseph’s dress that day. Without a murder weapon, and the lack of any other clues, Payne was found guilty of Claire’s murder due to the solid forensic investigation.

Case of Leanne Tiernan Murder (Hair)

Victim: Leanne Tiernan

Suspects: John Taylor, Wayne Keeley

What Happened: Leanne Tiernan was found buried in a shallow grave 10 miles from her home. She had a black plastic bag over her head, held in place by a dog collar, with a scarf and cable around her neck and wrists. She was wrapped in green plastic bin liners with twine. The scarf tied around Leanne’s neck had hairs caught in the knot. And, even though there was not enough DNA in the roots of the hair, scientists found DNA in the hair shaft and used mitochondrial DNA testing to match it to John Taylor.

Case of Jeanine Sanchez Harm Murder (Fiber)

Victim: Jeanine Sanchez Harm

Suspects: Maurice