Some criminal cases are tough to crack, but that doesn’t mean they are forgotten. Enter Cold Case detectives who, despite dormancy, unbox investigative files and endeavor to pick up the scent by backtracking then trek the trails until on-the-lam perpetrators are held accountable.
Historical whodunnits make the news across the nation, heralding the seasoned investigators who stay on the course no matter how old, no matter how much longer it takes…until justice is served and closure is provided for loved ones of victims who were maliciously taken long ago.
In New York City, NYPD Cold Case detectives emphasized how DNA results brought them closer to closing a 50-year-old murder: “’ Midtown Jane Doe’ cold case breakthrough comes after 50-year DNA match to 9/11 victim,” finally supplying the identity of a homicide victim whose investigators can now re-work the case differently/effectively.
“With any investigation, especially homicide investigation, the first thing you need to have is a name to the victim because it gives you a starting point,” NYPD Cold Case Squad Detective Ryan Glas said.
Det. Glas credited one of the former Cold Case detectives who initially worked the case, ultimately passing off his findings, relying on fresh-eyed investigators enabled by new details to sift further, until the mystery is solved.
In Indiana, Cold Case detectives exhausted themselves investigating the unsolved murder of an elderly farmer.
“A man imprisoned since last year has been indicted on murder and other charges in the 2012 slaying of a retired farmer found shot to death in his western Indiana home,” indicated an Associated Press report conveying new police findings, concluding an arduous Cold Case investigation.
“Detectives have investigated more than 275 tips, conducted nearly 170 interviews, and searched many areas of land and water in the Sullivan County area as part of the still-open investigation.”
Sometimes, in the process of Cold Case investigators revisiting case files, reconsidering details, and re-interviewing people, breaks in cases evolve…
One case came down to the wire, whereby the killer, during an interview with Cold Case detectives, confessed to murdering a mother and child, leading investigators to their remains. While cops, forensics staff, and coroners were at the prescribed burial site unearthing remains of the two homicide victims of long ago, the killer died.
According to Fox News reporter Andrea Vacchiano, “The case was cold for over two decades when the FBI began re-investigating in 2021.”
Recent transpirations concluded the case with a coming-clean declaration made by the murderer: “On Tuesday, officials from the West Virginia State Police said that the confession was made during the first week of April. West Virginia State Police Capt. R. A. Maddy said that Webb was on his deathbed and ‘looking to come to Jesus at that point’.”
Some Cold Cases come to an end after plenty of years, thanks to unrelenting police work by law enforcement professionals staying the course. Conversely, other whodunnits remain dormant…
Unfinished Business
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) in Tampa, Florida, has dedicated a team of seasoned detectives and elicits the help of anyone out there who may have been around when heinous victimizations have occurred historically, unknowingly possessing relevant information (or have a hunch and are now ready to come forward), aiding investigators in sewing up loose ends.
HCSO created a podcast called “Unfinished Business,” specifically relegated to Cold Cases and the investigators assigned to work them until solved.
Police academy instructors touch upon Cold Case concepts, seeding in the minds of recruits that every time they are at a crime scene, considering each scintilla as potential evidence is crucial.
(Photo courtesy of the Maryland State Police.)
One of my department’s crime scene technicians (civilian capacity) almost always expanded the periphery beyond what was considered reasonable. His profound prowess for evidentiary substance was typically ultra-focused and duly disciplined, leaving no stone unturned…running out of stones to check under.
Forensics and evidence collection play a huge role after many years have passed, along with real-time parties.
Despite this, though, sometimes criminals make every effort to tidy their abominations.
Throughout my law enforcement career, there were several re-openings of cold cases initiated by various veteran detectives whose convictions to cuff the perpetrators were impassioned to the extent they’d metaphorically bleed their fingernails digging for new clues. There is zero ambiguity when it comes to the term “unfinished business.”
HCSO’s organization is large enough to convene investigative personnel for their Cold Case Squad. These squads or units are ordinarily composed of extraordinarily experienced detectives, some out of police retirement, looking for leads and working until closures are accomplished…
“In 1983, Marie Porter’s life was stolen when she was senselessly murdered inside her home in Plant City, leaving behind a mystery that has not faded. Decades later, our cold case investigators with Team HCSO are digging into new evidence to find her killer and solve this crime.
“Listen now to our latest episode of Unfinished Business and join us as we work to uncover the truth behind Marie Porter’s murder.”
The sheriff’s office published a brief video of a cold case they are working on, aided by the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Sunshine State’s equivalent of the FBI):
As mentioned by the cold case investigator in that footage, forensics is always crucial in solving cold cases, justly extending accolades to scientists in crime labs performing “phenomenal” investigative studies, and often managing to conclude cases with long-awaited clues leading to identification resulting in the apprehension of phantom fugitives.
The reality-based hit series “Forensic Files” is a great depiction of how deep investigators dig when it comes to cold cases. Aptly named “Cold Case,” albeit fictionalized, was another hit series illustrating the detectives who doggedly run down every lead, longshots and all.
Meeting of the Minds
Although Cold Case Units are generally modest in staffing, investigators typically scour the existing files and “read it like a book,” as HCSO’s cold case investigator offered in a brief video examining the unsolved homicide of Tammy Fickey who was bludgeoned to death and found in a grassy area in 2005.
Paying meticulous attention to detail, especially when some pieces do not align, is the forté of these specialized detectives. They sit down and dissect evidence, bandy-about questions, consider possible scenarios, run down leads (no matter how minute), generate supplemental reports, and consistently pound the pavement until something/someone shakes out, determinedly taking the aged investigation in new trajectories.
The Baltimore County Police Homicide Cold Case Squad developed an online accounting of all its unsolved historical cold cases so that viewers anywhere can glean the synopsis of victims and perhaps have memory jogged.
(Photo courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Homicide Cold Case Squad.)
As you may have read/heard, this brand of investigator sometimes candidly attests how cold cases and the victims remain stuck in their psyches, often culminating in vicarious trauma.
Despite the breadth of investigative experience cold case detectives possess, the modest staffing sometimes engenders civilians in the overall analysis and progress of the case. Non-profit organizations focused on aiding detectives investigating cold cases are enlisted for research purposes, extra legs in the search-and-rescue realms, and general input. Project Cold Case is one such example.
While on light duty in my police career, I experienced a few occasions whereby I was fortunate to sit in on Cold Case meetings during which detectives analyzed investigations opened many moons ago, with the long arm and the short arm circuited exhaustively.
(Photo courtesy of the Detectives’ Endowment Association.)
One factor always present in discussions about Cold Cases is the respect for fresh eyes and ideas from newly added LEOs whose gumshoe personas help jumpstart unsolved dormant cases by rendering novel perspectives, even remote ones.
The Broward County, Florida, sheriff’s office Cold Case Unit attributes are similar to HCSO’s, including a broadcast series intended to stir memories of the viewing public.
“Investigating and solving cold cases takes patience, outside-the-box thinking, and fresh eyes. In hopes of solving some of the agency’s most perplexing cold cases, the Broward Sheriff’s Office is launching a new cold case video series, entitled “Open and Unsolved,” a BSO press release stated.
You never know when a break may come, or how, until all considerations are investigated. Open minds detect scant nuances that may morph into the proverbial “break in the case.”
In all of this, Cold Case detectives become pseudo-family members to loved ones of the victimized whose end-of-life circumstances wouldn’t finalize until many years later.
“The passage of time should not delay the quest for justice,” Broward County Sheriff Tony said. “BSO’s Cold Case Unit detectives leverage new technologies and bring a fresh perspective to these investigations in hopes of bringing a measure of peace to the victims and their families.”
The ludicrous defunding of the police may have hindered many law enforcement units around the country, in effect downsizing investigative roles, further hampering investigations of Cold Cases. Nevertheless, the beat goes on…
According to BSO’s public information officer, the South Florida-based law enforcement agency “created a Cold Case Unit that is staffed with three detectives and a crime analyst. The unit investigates cold-case homicides and cold-case sex crimes.”
Despite the macabre circumstances of many Cold Case files, there are fastidious investigators whose steadfast nature shows up every day and stays the course until the elusive monsters who think they got away with murder are cuffed and finally brought to justice.
