Ilse G. Knecht

The case, Bell said, is just the latest example of why law enforcement should be motivated to test every rape kit — ones from stranger attacks and ones with named suspects that weren’t prosecuted. #ENDTHEBACKLOG #testallkits cleveland.com/metro/2019/10/…

Here's what I believe: no more business as usual in the Senate. We shouldn't be voting to proceed to normal legislation until Republicans schedule a debate and a vote and on a declaration of war against Iran. Let's see if Trump has the votes to authorize war. I bet he doesn't.

DOGE has no authority to access Americans’ private information or to block critical payments.   Elon Musk may be the world's richest man, but he is not above the law. I intend to sue to stop this injustice.

Something is SERIOUSLY wrong when these Supreme Court Jackasses don't feel compelled to tell their wives not be be insurrectionists, but they feel entitled to tell America's women what to do with their bodies. We put a stop to this in Roevember.

AI is shockingly good at making fake nudes — and causing havoc in schools politi.co/3yGf3Jm via @politico

@NYSenDems @Fernandez4NY This bill is crucial to survivors of sexual assault in NY. Drinking acohol should not give perpetrators a license to assault someone with impunity!

“Existing law regarding a victims inability to consent has raised concerns … if a victim voluntarily consumes alcohol or drugs, and becomes impaired they are not considered legally incapacitated under the current rape statutes” — @Fernandez4NY legislativegazette.com/bill-would-rem…

@HowThingsWorkOH @JessicaEMiranda Thank you for staying on the case @JessicaEMiranda!! 💙💚

🥳HUGE news! The bill to close #Ohio's rape loophole (HB 161) is scheduled for another hearing AND A VOTE this Tuesday (4/23)! Use this template to submit testimony to support HB 161: tinyurl.com/2naw6c2s Then make 3 quick phone calls to help HB 161 pass committee...

@SeawrightForNY Thank you for your work to help survivors find healing and jsutice!

Out of every 1,000 perpetrators of sexual assault, only 25 end up serving a prison sentence. This legislation we co-sponsored and passed will finally broaden the definition of rape and ensure all victims can get justice.

Two Hampton Roads cold cases solved through Virginia sexual assault initiative - augustafreepress.com/news/two-hampt…

GREAT NEWS! Five years into the sexual assault kit initiative, Omaha police have gone from over 2,000 untested kits to only 141 kits left to test. bit.ly/48IlJ6x

@LaurenLee_915 Wow, Lauren. Can't wait to hear. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬💙💙💙💚💚💚

Day 342 I woke up this morning to an unexpected message. Though the final DNA testing results aren’t yet in — and they don’t know when they will be — the AG’s Office is going to meet with me to discuss the status of my mom’s investigation. I may not be able to share full details of that meeting, but I thank you all for your support in helping make it happen. Since August 2020, I’ve given everything I have to figuring out how my mom died in 1993. After learning about her unsolved case, I stood at her now empty grave and promised her a fair chance at justice. I started this journey feeling alone, scared and having no idea what the hell I was doing or who I could trust. I faced threats, knocked on dangerous doors and pushed myself past a whole lot of fear. I can’t tell you how many times people told me I’d never get my mom’s case reopened or prove how she died. But here we are today. In case it’s not abundantly obvious by now, let me be clear — I will not back down until I know how my mother died. After learning her rape kit was never tested, I realized this fight was a lot bigger than her. If my mom’s 1993 kit was untested, how many others were out there, collecting dust on the shelf? After learning of other families experiencing the same frustrations as me, that realization only deepened. How many others were waiting, their hearts and spirits broken, for some sort of resolution? My fight is for my mom, but it’s also for them, for every victim who faced the indignity of a rape kit and every family who faced the frustration of silence. I am deeply encouraged and overwhelmingly inspired by the support of this community I’ve found in the years since my journey first began. My strength comes from all those I’ve met along the way, who navigate the same path as me, fighting a system that wishes they’d keep quiet and step back in line. We’re not doing that. We deserve answers, transparency, accountability and justice. We deserve compassion, acknowledgement, respect and effort. To all those on this path - keep walking. To all those who wish we’d stop - stay mad. The fight continues. #Day342 #LoriLeeMalloy #JusticeForLoriLee #TeamSledDog

@AGOWA As a person who works on this issue day in and day out, I want people to understand that some of these kits go back to early 2000s and maybe even before. So this is a problem that started long before Bob Ferguson. Read why the backlog happens here endthebacklog.org/what-is-the-ba…

Clearing Washington’s rape kit backlog has led to another arrest. In a 2006 Centralia rape case, DNA from a kit tested as part of our Sexual Assault Kit Initiative matched Pablo Munoz-Hernandez. Trial is set for January. Read more on this and other cases: wasaki.atg.wa.gov/data-and-resul…

Insane that we have to legislate this but here you go: nonconsensual pelvic exams!!! pahouse.com/InTheNews/News…

@LaurenLee_915 I feel strongly that you will find out, Lauren. The truth is out there! ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️💙💚💙💚

Day 296 I don’t even really know what to write today. I started sharing these updates as we approached day 100, hoping maybe the hundredth day would be the one. When that milestone came and went, I silently looked to day 200. Now, a small part of me foolishly hopes somewhere around day 300 will be the one where I have answers about how my mom died. I try to keep updates positive, look on the bright side and find reasons to just be grateful my mom was exhumed and modern forensics are getting answers I’ve waited my entire life to know — but it’s hard. It’s really, really, ridiculously hard to wake up every day and be hit by this reality. Part of me feels bad for feeling frustrated when I know so many other families would give anything to have their loved one’s case make it this far. Part of me feels bad complaining when I know my mom’s forensic tests aren’t the only ones in process; she’s no more important than anyone else. But she’s my mom. Her remains were removed from her grave and now she’s sitting in the morgue while some lab — and I don’t even know which one — handles her forensic tests. I can’t visit her final resting place because she doesn’t have one right now. I know she’s always with me, but it hurts to not be able to be close to her. I used to have this ritual of getting an iced coffee, then spending time pruning her flowers and cleaning her stone on weekend mornings, my weird way of visiting my mom, and now I can’t even do that. I can’t visit with her. For over two years I fought so hard to get her case reopened. I poured absolutely everything I had into the investigation, sacrificing sleep, time with family and friends and putting myself into sometimes dangerous situations to push her case forward. I know her case inside out, can tell you names and dates, historical details, exact quotes of things she wrote in journals that are now with the police. I’ve paid $80 a month to keep her belongings safe in storage, just in case they’re ever needed for evidence. I’ve met with experts, witnesses, people she knew in life. I’ve done absolutely everything in my power to solve her death. And now there’s nothing more I can do. There’s no way for me to make the process go faster or even get a real answer about why it’s taking so long. I hear rumors about some things but can’t get those confirmed. I’m given timeframes that come and go, to the point where I don’t even believe new timeframes I’m told because it’s been almost a year when I was initially told “four to five weeks.” All I can do is hope the waiting means something good, that this Hail Mary effort for my mom’s case is the one that wins, that some scientific miracle happens and all the effort wasn’t for nothing. Hope is a funny thing…It’s like this last defense between joy and despair, a thin line separating a feeling of success from absolute failure. I cling to hope. I allow myself to feel it, the only thing that keeps me moving forward while the day count continues to rise. I hope, I hope, I hope. #day296 #justiceforlorilee #teamsleddog #lorileemalloy

@LaurenLee_915 @RICSAR401 So amazing. You are a #SHEro!

Tonight I passed my probationary period and officially became a full-fledged member of the @RICSAR401 team. I wasn’t entirely sure of myself when I told our President Jim Rawley that I wanted to try it out. I had no idea what I was doing, had never been near a certified K-9 and worried that I’d fail before I even began, but decided to give it a shot. My first search was under the guidance of handler Jennifer Anderson and K-9s Ryder and Finn. Somewhere in the middle of the woods, after climbing through nasty brush in my inadequate gear, I realized I loved the work. Over this past year, I’ve learned a lot from my teammates, from reading SAR K-9 behaviors to mapping brushfires, packing for emergencies, preparing for searches, grid searching sectors, dealing with way too many ticks, handling radio communications, keeping a suspicious amount of latex gloves in the car, having “happy puppy parties,” working alongside law enforcement and emergency personnel when people’s loved ones go missing and more. I’ve learned a lot about myself, too — definitely not the same woman who wandered into the woods in her yoga pants last winter. I broke in my boots! I am proud to be on call 24/7/365 alongside the top handlers and K-9s in the state — and arguably the country — and look forward to all that’s next. Endless thanks to every single #RICSAR vet who gave me their time, knowledge and trust, and every LEO who allowed me the opportunity to assist with search efforts. Here’s to serving so that others may live. 💙⚓️💛 #WeAreRICSAR #SAR #rhodeIsland

@AdyBarkan My condolences. He sounds like an amazing person. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Hi all, this is Ady’s wife, Rachael. I’m devastated to share the news that Ady has died from complications of ALS. You probably knew Ady as a healthcare activist. But more importantly he was a wonderful dad and my life partner for 18 years. [1/4]

Thank uou @Catch_LISK for doing this! 🙏🧬🧬♥️

All #NewYorkState #UnidentifiedPersons are finally on the map. The date range is 1/20/1969 - 9/29/2023 and consists of 1446 persons, who have at least 1 person who loves them and misses them and wondered what might have happened to them... #SolveColdCases #GiveThemBackTheirNames