Shraman Mitra
The world lost a brilliant doctor when Dr. David Cornbleet was stabbed to death in his Chicago, Illinois, office on October 24, 2006. With little to no leads initially, the investigation faced the threat of coming to a halt, but then a sudden discovery blew the case wide open. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Stranger Among Us: Prescription for Murder’ chronicles the horrifying crime and shows how CCTV footage helped identify the accused and bring closure to the victim’s family. Let’s take a closer look at the case and find out where the murderer is at present, shall we?
How Did Dr. David Cornbleet Die?
Dr. David Cornbleet was a well-known dermatologist who was highly regarded in his community. David was in love with life and always looked forward to a new day, even at his mature age. He had his office in Chicago, Illinois, and shared a deep bond with his family, making his untimely demise even more unacceptable. Incidentally, David’s daughter — Jocelyn Cornbleet — was the first to notice her father’s deceased body after entering her office.
David was murdered on October 24, 2006, and an autopsy determined that he was stabbed to death. The victim was bound and gagged, lying in a pool of blood, and it seemed like there was a scuffle before the brutal slaying. Moreover, signs of a forced entry and a fight hinted that David wasn’t expecting his attacker, and it might have been a premeditated crime. Naturally, David’s unfortunate death left his kids badly affected, and they swore to seek justice for their father.
Who Killed Dr. David Cornbleet?
The initial investigation was relatively slow as there were no proper leads or clues that could point towards a person of interest. Although David’s son, Jonathan, was up in arms about finding the killer, neither the victim’s loved ones nor his acquaintances could realize who or why someone would want to harm the dermatologist. With David’s fame spreading far and wide, the suspect could have been anyone from his massive patient circle, but he was respected and revered, making the hunt for a person with motive all the more difficult.
While going through the crime scene and the building, authorities noticed that several active CCTV cameras could’ve captured the murderer walking in or out of David’s office. Thus, hoping for a face reveal or, even better, an identity match, officers poured through hours of footage, on the lookout for anyone standing out of the ordinary. While going through the footage, the police noticed a particular individual near David’s office inside the timeframe of the murder.
Once the police appealed to the public for help with the footage, the show portrayed how a tip informed authorities that the man in the video was Hans Peterson. Incidentally, Peterson bore a personal vendetta against the doctor as he believed a drug prescribed by David to have ruined his life. Therefore, with a possible motive and a person of interest, the police sensed they were near to solving the murder.
Further incriminating evidence presented itself when authorities went over to Peterson’s apartment and retrieved a used cigarette butt. Once they extracted his DNA from the cigarette, they discovered that it was a perfect match to a foreign DNA sample extracted from a blood splatter at the murder scene. Thus, with definite forensic evidence tying Peterson to the case, the police were determined of his involvement and began arrangements to apprehend him.
Where is Hans Peterson Now?
Unfortunately, even before the police could catch up with Hans Peterson, he fled the country and traveled to the French-held island of St. Martin. Initially, the cops were hopeful of extradition. However, with Peterson’s mother being a French citizen, France refused to hand him over, and the US authorities had to return home empty-handed. Despite that, David’s family and the US justice system never gave up on fighting for Dr. David Cornbleet and kept up talks with the French government, hoping they would hold a trial of their own.
Fortunately, the nearby archipelago of Guadeloupe took the lead, and ultimately, Peterson was produced in court. David’s family traveled overseas to witness the trial where the accused was convicted of murder with acts of barbarity, and as a result, sentenced to 22 years to life in prison in 2011. With David still not being eligible for parole, it is safe to assume that he is behind bars in prison on French territory.
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