Tag Archives: Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences

More on finding Baby Holly

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Everything about this story continues to fascinate me. How did investigators find Holly Marie Clouse? It all came down to a question about spelling — and a birth certificate. In January, genealogists identified the bodies of Harold Dean Clouse and Tina … Continue reading →

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Long lost daughter of Tina Linn and Dean Clouse found

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Donna Casasanta got the call this week, a call she’s spent half of her life praying for. A call about Holly Marie. More than 40 years ago, her son, Harold Dean Clouse, moved to Texas from New … Continue reading →

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Missing In Harris County Day 2022

Posted on May 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: For those with missing loved ones and those who would advocate for them, an annual event May 14th in Houston is the place to be for resources, awareness, and more. May 14, 2022, is Missing in Harris … Continue reading →

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More on Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very moving stuff. Donna Casasanta picked through the brush in an overgrown patch of woods in northeast Harris County, looking. The 80-year-old mother had spent 40 years wondering. She had traveled 980 miles, driven with her grown children for three … Continue reading →

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Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a fascinating story about two people who were murdered in 1980, discovered in 1981, and finally identified in 2021 thanks to the broader availability of public DNA databases. Debbie Brooks was hard at work one day back in … Continue reading →

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Missing In Harris County Day

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea this was a thing. Last year, 40,175 children were reported missing in Texas (over 9,600 of these from the Greater Houston area). And while many of these cases ended up solved, as of December 31, 8,360 … Continue reading →

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In which we try again to eliminate a rape kit backlog

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

How exactly did we get here? The city’s independent crime lab on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to clear a backlog of hundreds of rape kits and other DNA evidence, the latest effort to rein in a recurring problem that … Continue reading →

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Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences officially opens

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent news. The greater Houston region now has a sophisticated asset to investigate and solve crimes with the official opening of the new Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS). Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and other dignitaries, including Harris … Continue reading →

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Harris County crime lab experiencing DNA testing backlog

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

These things do happen. Expanded testing for property crimes has helped create a backlog of more than 4,600 DNA cases in the Harris County crime lab, straining its ability to complete the processing of such evidence for sexual assaults and … Continue reading →

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The pros and cons of merging the crime labs

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The calls to merge the city and county crime labs are back, but not everyone likes the idea. Merging Houston’s and Harris County’s crime labs, an idea that was rejected several years ago by the city’s mayor when forensic work … Continue reading →

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What happened to Sandra Bland?

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is horrible. There are big questions about the final hours of Sandra Bland’s life. The official story is that the 28-year old committed suicide by hanging herself in a Waller County jail cell. Her family doesn’t buy it. Bland, … Continue reading →

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Construction of joint processing center and forensics facility approved to begin

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Several major building projects – including a state-of-the-art facility for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and a voter-approved jail inmate processing center – officially are in the pipeline after Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a $305 million … Continue reading →

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Groundbreaking on the county’s new DNA forensics lab

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Harris County officials on Tuesday broke ground on a new forensic genetics laboratory, to open later this year, which will let county scientists test DNA evidence in a growing number of cases. The 15,000-square-foot facility, on Holcombe in the … Continue reading →

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More details on the city’s crime lab plan

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s starting to come into focus. An independent crime lab could cost nearly 20 percent more than the current police-run operation, a high-level Parker administration official told a City Council committee this week. Andy Icken, the mayor’s chief development officer, … Continue reading →

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Solving car crimes with DNA

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This story is basically a commercial for Harris County’s crime lab – Did you know that since they have no testing backlog on personal crime cases they can focus on property crimes? It’s true! – but it’s still pretty cool. … Continue reading →

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Meet the Houston Regional Forensic Science Center

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker has revealed her vision for an independent regional crime lab. Mayor Annise Parker proposed on Wednesday taking control of the city’s crime lab away from the police department and handing it to an independent seven-member board with expertise … Continue reading →

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County approves building new forensics lab

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Institute of Forensic Sciences is getting a new home. Commissioners Court on Tuesday gave staff the go-ahead to finalize a land deal with the Texas Medical Center that would give the county 2.79 acres at the northeast corner of … Continue reading →

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More on the crime lab and the city jail

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here we have some more information about Mayor Parker’s plans for the crime lab, though it’s still not really clear where this is going. Parker wants to make the lab independent of HPD and the city, overseen instead by a … Continue reading →

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Harris County moves forward with new crime lab

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County is moving forward with plans to create what is being called a regional crime lab. At a meeting Tuesday, commissioners approved a plan that would lead the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences into becoming a regional crime … Continue reading →

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