Detroit Program Seeks Private Donations to Test 11,000 Rape Kits

Building on the momentum of a new $35 million national fund for rape kit testing, Detroit's Wayne County Prosecutor's office—which discovered 11,000 untested rape kits in an abandoned storage unit five years ago—announced a new public-private partnership working to raise $10 million to fund the investigation and…
Sing for Me, They're Dying of Thirst
A few days ago, a video made the rounds about the water crisis in Detroit, where a community activist exposed the biased and inaccurate claims of a reporter. The reporter, who works for a local news outlet in Detroit, claimed that a significant amount of Detroiters whose water were being cut off, actually had the…
Details of Abuse Surface in Investigation of Missing Detroit Boy
Remember when Nancy Grace of HLN's Nancy Grace told a father on live television that his missing son had been found in his own basement? We all had ourselves quite the WTFSMDH moment. And while Charlie Bothuell IV denied being aware of his son's whereabouts (which also escaped police searches for a while), we all…
Renisha McBride's Shooter Wants a New Trial Judge, Blames Facebook
Theodore Wafer is requesting a new judge for his impending June trial in connection with the fatal shooting of Renisha McBride last year. Wafer is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and possession of a felony firearm after he shot McBride in the face when he found her on his porch in late one night in…
Suburban Detroit Mom Says No To Reading About Anne Frank's Ladyparts
Would-be Belieber Anne Frank has been getting attention for all the wrong reasons lately. One suburban Detroit mom could have it so she gets no attention at all because of her "female genitalia."
Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy Discusses 11,000 Untested Rape Kits With Brian Williams
We've spent a fair amount of time chronicling the battle of badass Kym Worthy, the Wayne County, Michigan prosecutor who stumbled on over 11,000 untested rape kits at a former police storage warehouse back in 2009, the lack of funding Worthy was faced with even after arranging for a federal grant of one million…
This Impossibly Badass Prosecutor and 'Rape Kit' Advocate Is Our New Hero
Plagued by rape fatigue? Meet Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy, the woman who's been leading the charge to sort through more than 11,000 untested police "rape kits" since 2009. Worthy is hellbent on getting the kits, which contain evidence of rape such as semen and saliva, logged, tested, and entered into the national…
Your Evening Cry: Brave Firefighters Rescue Dogs from a Burning House
In a recently released clip from BURN, a documentary following a year in the Detroit Fire Department, firefighters rush to save two dogs from a burning home while the distressed owner is forced to stand by. The outcome looks bleak when the dogs are finally removed from the house — both, one only a puppy, are…
Rape Kits Having a Hard Time Getting Out of a Detroit Evidence Room
Now that the Rube Goldberg machinery of justice has started creaking back to life, law enforcement officials in Detroit have a chance at processing more than 11,000 untouched rape kits that have languished in a police evidence room for years. However, apart from the fact that belatedly broaching the subject of rape…
Look Out, Michigan. You've Got a 'Pantyhose Pervert' in Your Midst
Congratulations, women and children of Detroit, you have a new sex offender to look out for. A white male in his 50s has been witnessed frequenting several establishments, mainly clothing stores and salons (where he reportedly requests Brazilians), wearing only pantyhose to cover his lower half. I know, how terribly…
Revisiting Untested Rape Kits Cracks Cases but 'Revictimizes' Women
DNA evidence is tested ASAP after a murder, but between 180,000 and 400,000 forgotten rape kits are collecting dust in police evidence rooms nationwide, even though technology can easily link attackers — who are often strangers and serial rapists — to their crimes. So it's a gigantic step forward that the National…
Elderly Carjacking Victim Crawls Across Parking Lot With Broken Leg and No One Helps Him
It's tempting to believe that if a grandfather was carjacked at a gas station in plain sight of other customers, someone would rush to help him. But, alas, humans are horrible. Aaron Brantley, an 86-year-old WWII vet, learned that the hard way a few days ago at a gas station in Detroit. Carjackers broke his leg and…
