The murders of Betty Boyd, Verline Boyd, and Evangela Boyd in 1993 were tragic and heartbreaking. The man accused of the murders, Sherwood Brown, caused the police to chase him and ending up making himself seem even more guilty (Sherwood, 1997). He was convicted of the murders and sentenced to two life sentences and the death penalty. After many attempts made by Brown for DNA testing during his time in prison, the Mississippi Supreme Court granted the testing in 2012 and found he may not be the killer everyone thought him to be (Sherwood, 1997).
On January 7, 1993, a five-year-old, Yochi Boyd, went to his grandmother’s house to wait for the bus. When he arrived, he went inside to sit with his grandmother before the bus’s arrival. Instead, he found his family members’ bodies. When the bus arrived, he informed the bus driver of what he saw and the DeSoto Police Department was notified (Apel, 2017). Shortly after the arrival of the police, the bodies of Betty Boyd, 85, Verline Boyd, 48, and Evangela Boyd, 14, were found (Amy, 2017). Verline …show more content…
Shoeprint analysis was conducted by Geary Kanaskie of the FBI. Analysis of Brown’s Fila running shoes showed they were the same size as the prints recovered from the scene and the top of the shoeprint matched those in the house. An FBI serologist, Joe Errera, tested the shoes for blood. He stated that the right shoe came up clean but the left shoe tested positive for blood during chemical testing (Sherwood, 1997). Errera mentioned that while the test came up positive on the right shoe, the environmental interactions that took place in the removal of the stain on the left shoe can affect the test to the point where it cannot detect blood. This could mean there was a possibility of blood on the “clean” right shoe but it could no longer be
On January 7, 1993, a five-year-old, Yochi Boyd, went to his grandmother’s house to wait for the bus. When he arrived, he went inside to sit with his grandmother before the bus’s arrival. Instead, he found his family members’ bodies. When the bus arrived, he informed the bus driver of what he saw and the DeSoto Police Department was notified (Apel, 2017). Shortly after the arrival of the police, the bodies of Betty Boyd, 85, Verline Boyd, 48, and Evangela Boyd, 14, were found (Amy, 2017). Verline …show more content…
Shoeprint analysis was conducted by Geary Kanaskie of the FBI. Analysis of Brown’s Fila running shoes showed they were the same size as the prints recovered from the scene and the top of the shoeprint matched those in the house. An FBI serologist, Joe Errera, tested the shoes for blood. He stated that the right shoe came up clean but the left shoe tested positive for blood during chemical testing (Sherwood, 1997). Errera mentioned that while the test came up positive on the right shoe, the environmental interactions that took place in the removal of the stain on the left shoe can affect the test to the point where it cannot detect blood. This could mean there was a possibility of blood on the “clean” right shoe but it could no longer be