Cold Case Homicide Investigation

Article courtesy: Danny R. Smith

In every community someone yearns for resolve and closure of society’s most heinous crime—the unlawful killing of a human being. Yet few know why many homicides remain unsolved, or how a private citizen can influence the outcome of an investigation.

The simple and unpleasant reality is that homicide detectives—nationwide—are typically overwhelmed by their caseloads. With no break from a revolving on-call schedule, a steady diet of new cases and several cases preparing for trial at any given time, big city homicide detectives simply cannot dedicate the time necessary to solve every case. The unsolved cases—even recent cases with workable information—begin collecting dust as new cases redirect their time, energy and priorities. As days, weeks and months pass, so do the good intentions of getting back to “that one murder.” And that one murder may be that of your loved one.

Some cases will never be solved regardless of the effort put forth. Drug-related homicides and gang murders are among the more challenging, for various reasons: fearful, unwilling or uncooperative witnesses, diminutive evidence, unsubstantiated motive, anonymous offenders or random victims, to name a few. However, when innocent victims (law-abiding citizens, children, the elderly, etc.) become victims of homicide, a tangible suspect and motive almost always exists. The key to solving these murders is experience coupled with time and tenacity.

According to the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime in the United States 2005 report, the national solve rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases of cities exceeding 250,000 in population, was 56.5 percent. These numbers don’t vary much from year to year. It is likely this statistic is elevated by the inclusion of manslaughter cases, whereas oftentimes the offenders are known by their victim. It is also fair to say the statistic would be substantially higher if not for drug- and gang-related murders.

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