Numbers Game: 1978 Murder of Girl, 16, Solved in 2026, With 1982 Fingerprint Card!

 

On December 22, 1978,  a school bus driver about 11 miles east of Billings, Montana, spotted what looked to be trash dumped close to the road close to the I-90/Pryor Creek Interchange. The bus drivers stops to take a closer look when he notices a shoe and what appears to be a body. He just discovered the body of 16-year-old Corina Contreraz, and the beginning of a case that would not be solved for 48 years. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take an up-close look at the investigation into the murder of Corina and the incredible scientific work done by investigators in Montana and the team at Othram Labs. This is the first time in history where a murderer has been caught with an innocuous finger print sitting in an arrest file for 44 years.  If the investigation was a numbers game, the equation that led to the suspect would look like this: 1978 + 16 + 2026 + 1982 = Angelo Stallsmith Sr.

Highlights:

00:01.400 Setting the Stage for a Forensic Mystery
00:10.850 The Power of Friction Ridges
02:08.450 A Cold Case from 1978
10:21.309 The Discovery of the Body
21:56.840 Investigating the Crime Scene
22:54.570 A Mysterious Discovery
23:12.340 Investigating the Crime Scene
28:45.960 The Hunt for Clues
37:12.050 A Breakthrough in Forensic Science
37:19.680 The Breakthrough in Forensic Technology
42:42.600 Solving a 44-Year-Old Mystery