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Cold Justice

The Outrage and Promise of Untested DNA From Rape Victims

Starting in the 1970s, a Baltimore doctor quietly preserved DNA evidence from rape victims, believing science would eventually catch up. Much of it would sit for decades, ignored and unused, until a trailblazing detective and her cold-case team uncovered its secrets.

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

Cold Justice

Maryland Is on Track to Process a Nearly 50-Year-Old Backlog of Rape Kits

A new law extends the state’s sexual assault evidence protections to cover DNA samples. But getting justice in hundreds of cold cases will require more than just testing, survivors say.

Cold Justice

Decades-Old Trove of DNA Evidence, Collected by a Maryland Doctor, Leads to a Serial Rape Arrest

A ProPublica investigation highlighted a critical collection of evidence and inspired a law to preserve it. Now, that evidence has been used to charge a man with three rapes.

Cold Justice

Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence

Samples saved by a Baltimore doctor have been used to solve more than 80 cold cases, but evidence from 1,800 cases remains untested. The state's new attorney general and some lawmakers are acting to protect this evidence trove from destruction.

Cold Justice

How Our Investigation Into Untested DNA Evidence Helped Solve a 1983 Murder

When reporter Catherine Rentz found a 1983 article about a student who was raped and murdered, she immediately recognized the similarities to crimes committed by a serial perpetrator she’d been investigating.

8 stories published since 2021

Early Results on DNA Evidence From Decades-Old Rape Cases Are Both Promising and Alarming

Testing Rape Kits Can Deliver Exonerations, Closure and Cost Savings. Why Does It Still Take So Long to Do?

He Admitted to a Rape 41 Years After the Fact. For One Survivor: “It’s the Most Freeing Experience in the World”

“The Best Bargain in the History of Law Enforcement” — and the High Cost of Not Testing Backlogged Rape Kits

“A Horror Movie in Reverse”: How I Investigated Decades of Untested Rape Kits

“This Is How You Get Your Power Back”

“You Save as Long as You Have To”

“Who Is This Monster?”

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

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    Texas Officials Say They Didn’t See the Flood Coming. Oral Histories Show Residents Have Long Warned of Risks.

    After a tragedy, records from local archives can help us understand how a community understands itself. Here’s some of what we learned following the devastating July 4 flooding in Texas.

    Unattended

    He Was Accused of Killing His Wife. Idaho’s Coroner System Let Clues Vanish After a Previous Wife’s Death.

    Clayton Strong had a history of domestic unrest in two marriages. The women’s families say a more thorough investigation of Betty Strong’s death in Idaho might have saved the life of his next wife, Shirley Weatherley, in Texas.

    Zero Trust

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    Rx Roulette

    FDA Inspectors Again Find Dangerous Breakdowns at an Indian Factory Supplying Medications to U.S. Consumers

    The latest inspection comes 2 1/2 years after the agency allowed Sun Pharma to keep shipping some drugs to Americans even after banning the factory from the U.S. market because of quality problems.