PI Blotter: Family Hires Private Investigator to Track Down Killer
- October 15, 2012
- by PInow Staff
- In the News
Each week PInow combs the web for the latest and most interesting industry news stories to bring you the Weekly Private Investigator Blotter.
Private Investigator Develops New App to Fight Romance Scams
ENGLAND – Private investigator Julia Robson has developed a new app that can help online daters determine whether a new online interest is a romance scammer. The app, CupidScreen, is available for iOS devices. The app works by asking the user a number of questions and then rates the potential online love interest on a scale of one to five in terms of risk. The app also provides a list of resources that the user can turn to if they feel they may have become the victim of a romance scam.
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Family Hires Private Investigator to Track Down Killer
CHILLICOTHE, OH – Harry Smith, an 89-year-old man, was found dead in a burned home in 2011. Smith’s family have become so frustrated with the official investigation that they have turned to an Ohio private investigator to get answers. Smith’s death was only declared a homicide after eight months, after officials considered whether Smith was responsible for his own death. Frustrated family members hired the Lycurgus Group to get answers. According to a family spokesman, the family were disturbed that during the official investigation the Ross County Sheriff's Office did not secure evidence and did not speak with key witnesses.
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Private Investigator Turns to Teaching
BUFFALO, NY – Janet Harszlak worked for years as a private investigator, working on a variety of cases, before returning to school and becoming an ethics and communications professor. While working as a private investigator, Harszlak repeatedly worked undercover. She found the pay too inconsistent as she was only paid after closing a case and in some cases she was not paid at all.
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Private Investigators Find No Evidence of Investors in Play Production
NEW YORK, NY – Attorneys representing the producers of the Rebecca Broadway production hired New York private investigators to look into investments of the $12 million production. According to the attorneys, investigators found that four of the parties supposedly investing in the show did not exist. The production was originally scheduled to start in April, but has been postponed after multiple problems.
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Police Officer Under Investigation
LUBBOCK, TX - Brownfield police officer Darrel Williams is being investigated and has been placed on leave. While authorities have not confirmed why Williams has been placed on leave, media outlets have uncovered that Williams has in the past been accused of sexual assault. After being handed documents by Texas private investigators, the police department and the Terry County District Attorney's Office are reportedly continuing the investigation. Private investigators questioned several aspects of Williams’ story when Williams was at trial. Specifically, Williams stated under oath that he had not previously been a police officer, while private investigators found that he had worked as a police officer back in 1994 and had been asked to resign after only a year of work after an allegation into sexual assault.
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South Carolina Court Deems E-Mails Are Not Private
COLUMBIA, SC — The South Carolina Supreme Court has deemed that open emails are not protected as private under federal laws, but the court seems undecided as to what exact situations that emails are protected under federal laws. The ruling is part of a case in which Lee Jennings’ emails were hacked by a South Carolina private investigator and his wife. Jennings accused his family and the private investigator of conspiracy, invasion of privacy, and violating the South Carolina Homeland Security Act and the Stored Communications Act. A Circuit Judge found in favor of the defendants, but Jennings appealed.
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For more private investigator news highlights, click here to check out the in-the-news archives.