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Compare cases

Put up to four dossiers side by side on notoriety, mystery, scale, evidence, law and culture.

Pick up to four dossiers.

Drag to reorder compared cases.

Two-case evidence lab

Side-by-side public-record marks from the timeline chapter. Not a guilt score.

D.B. Cooper

  1. 24 Nov 1971 Flight 305 hijacked
  2. 24 Nov 1971 Seattle ransom and release
  3. 24 Nov 1971 Reno landing
  4. 1972–73 Composites issued
  5. 1972 McCoy comparison
  6. 10 Feb 1980 Tena Bar find
  7. 1981 Cooper vane era
  8. 2000s Citizen suspects

Mary Celeste

  1. 1861 Launched as Amazon
  2. 7 Nov 1872 Sails from New York
  3. 25 Nov 1872 Last log-slate entry
  4. 4–5 Dec 1872 Dei Gratia boards
  5. Dec 1872 Arrival at Gibraltar
  6. 1873 Salvage award
  7. 1873–83 Ship returns to trade
  8. 1884 Conan Doyle’s story

Claim versus document

A habit for reading public files. Not legal advice and not a verdict.

Claim A headline says the loss was a round number.

Document check Look for the court paper or trustee report that states the figure and what it includes.

Habit Write the source next to the number before you repeat it.

Claim A clip says the case was never examined.

Document check Search the timeline chapter for an examination, plea or report year.

Habit A missing clip is not a missing file.

Claim A post treats the raid date as settled fact.

Document check Open the timeline chapter already on the page and write the dated public filing next to the post.

Habit A date without a public file is still a claim.

Source ladder

Climb from headline to document. Teaching order, not a verdict.

  1. 1 Headline or clip
  2. 2 Named secondary summary
  3. 3 Court, trustee or agency paper
  4. 4 Primary exhibit or transcript page

Dossier print sheet

Print the two open dossiers side by side. Stays on this device until you print.

Investigation literacy

Is this true-crime entertainment?

No. Pages teach public-record timelines and investigation habits. No wars (see /war). Avoid harassment framing.

Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.