Bancroftiana, Number 124 Spring 2004: The Legacy of Edward Oscar Heinrich

The Legacy of Edward Oscar Heinrich

Edward Oscar Heinrich, ’08, Handwriting Analyst, California Monthly, University of California, Berkeley: California Alumni Association, April, 1941, p. 20.

The advent of DNA has revolutionized forensics, resulting in recent trends to re-examine unsolved, “coldcase” homicides. Similarly, the application of DNA technology has led to the reversal in over one hundred cases of wrongful convictions as the innocent have been freed from prison cells and even death row.

The public’s fascination with murder and forensics is not new, however. During the “Roaring Twenties,” otherwise common murders became national headlines as the newspapers sensationalized names like Sacco and Vanzetti, among others. Anyone with a test tube and a camera could hire out as an expert to examine evidence in criminal proceedings, and many did.

In Berkeley, the work of Edward Oscar Heinrich laid the foundation for the future of professional forensic sciences. From his laboratory, Heinrich repeatedly demonstrated the value of scientific examination of trace evidence as his meticulous inspections provided the necessary links between the crime and suspects. As a result, his work was in demand by prosecutors and defense attorneys alike throughout the West. Heinrich became the focus of numerous magazine articles, newspaper accounts, and Sunday supplements as the part-time Cal professor garnered national fame.

Heinrich graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in chemistry in 1908, a long step from his arrival just a few years earlier with no high school diploma and lacking the fare to return home. He subsequently held a number of positions in various cities where he learned to combine his interest in chemistry with criminal investigation and detection.

After serving as Chief of Police in Alameda, Heinrich ultimately returned to the laboratory to pursue his chosen avocation. In October 1925, the murders of Henry Sweet and Carmen Wagner near Eureka fostered national headlines. Two local mixed-blood Native Americans, Jack Ryan and Walter David were arrested for the crime. Called “halfbreeds” in the press, evidence of their guilt was lacking and the district attorney called upon Heinrich for assistance. David was released but Ryan was charged with the murder of the girl after Heinrich identified a bullet recovered from the victim and shell casings found near her body as fired from Ryan’s gun. The politics of Prohibition as well as perjury and planted evidence tainted the case, however, and a jury of 12 white men acquitted Ryan after short deliberation.

Within months, a new D.A. was elected on a promise to solve the case or resign within two years. After the prosecutor’s men purportedly tortured and murdered David, Ryan was charged with assaulting two young girls. Maintaining his innocence, Ryan pled guilty to escape Humboldt County. Following an all-night, third-degree interrogation and swift court proceedings, Jack Ryan pled guilty to the Sweet murder and was sentenced to life in prison —all within 24 hours. Ryan later repudiated his confession, but spent over 40 years in prison. He always maintained he did not commit the crimes and did not know who did.

Advertisement for Criminologist, California Monthly, University of California, Berkeley: California Alumni Association, June, 1935, p. 5.

After Heinrich died in 1953, his records and case files were donated to The Bancroft Library. These documents are a snapshot in time, a forensic treasure vault of ageless value. Included were original notes, reports, photographs, correspondence, and other evidence from Ryan’s case. They became a cornerstone for a unique investigation begun 30 years later.

For over a decade, through an unofficial inquiry I tracked down original participants and buried records. This inquiry became perhaps America’s oldest active homicide investigation, revealing Ryan’s innocence while detailing the corruption surrounding his conviction and identifying the real killers. The timeless value of the Heinrich files was evidenced on April 15, 1996, when Governor Pete Wilson acknowledged California’s contrition:

“Unfortunately, we cannot do justice for Jack Ryan, the man. But we can do justice for Jack Ryan, the memory. And by doing so, we breathe vitality into our system of justice. We must remember that a just society may not always achieve justice, but it must constantly strive for justice. This means that we must not excuse the guilty nor fail to exonerate the guiltless. . . Therefore, so that justice is maintained, I grant Jack Ryan posthumously a pardon based on innocence.”

—Richard H. Walton