Cold Case
There are currently 250,000 unsolved murder cases in the United States. The Cold Case topic gives investigators and detectives news and information to stay current on the latest solved and unsolved cases, advancements in technology in police investigations and expert commentary on how police can close more cold cases. Learn how investigators are leveraging forensic genetic genealogy to solve cold cases, find out how the Vidocq Society helps agencies solve cold case homicides and discover how DNA on an ancestry site identified the Golden State Killer.
The society, which was founded in 1990, is a members-only club in Philadelphia; the group focuses their efforts on solving cold case homicides
Thanks to DNA analysis and genetic genealogy techniques, officials arrested a Colorado man they believe is responsible for the haunting slaying
Detective Ashley Nolan of the Chandler Police Department in Arizona details how her PD solved a sexual assault cold case from 1986
A man imprisoned for killing a former girlfriend a decade ago pleaded guilty Monday to slaying his estranged wife
Officials said a recent forensics “breakthrough” led police to the suspect, 44 years later
On Monday, prosecutors charged a 42-year-old man, who was then 19, with murder in the girl’s death
In January, Detectives Wagner and Bennett reopened the 1974 case that had stumped law enforcement for decades
Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, will die in prison for his guilty pleas to 13 murders and 13 rape-related charges between 1975 and 1986, said Judge Michael Bowman
The fugitive was arrested by the FBI in New Mexico where he was living under an alias
For years, police sought clues in the death of Kelly Prosser, abducted while walking home from elementary school
As part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, he pleaded guilty Monday to 13 murders and admitted dozens of rapes and crimes too old to be prosecuted
Police departments nationwide are grappling with changes the virus has wrought on their investigations, even as law enforcement agencies report major decreases in crime
DNA evidence was sent to a private lab that compared the DNA to publicly available databases shared by consumer companies like 23andMe
An estimated 40% of the homicides that occurred in the U.S. from 1980 to 2016 – approximately 242,000 – remain unsolved
New Hampshire State Police criminalist Timothy Jackson manually plotted the characteristics of a fingerprint after computerized methods didn’t return a result
Sheriff Chad Chronister said he hoped the Netflix series would renew interest in the 1997 disappearance of Jack ‘Don’ Lewis
The mystery following the discovery of 11 sets of human remains is about to be highlighted in a new Netflix film coming out in March
The now-dead suspect is believed to be linked to other cold cases from the 1970s
The outlaw killed his wife with an ax and was last seen after escaping from jail in 1916
Agencies must address the growing problem of unresolved criminal cases
Ultimately, the library will house large binders known as “murder books” for more than 15,000 solved and unsolved cases across the city and create a centralized digital database
Terri Lynn Hollis disappeared from her Torrance home on Thanksgiving in 1972. Her body, clad only in a T-shirt, was found the next day by fishermen
Linda and Clifford Bernhardt were killed at their home in a case that would stymie investigators for decades
Using DNA evidence, Richland County investigators were able to solve a grisly murder from 30 years ago
Officials said DNA evidence ties Alexander Christopher Ewing to the slayings
A California PD is drawing attention to a 45-year-old murder case by tweeting about the crime as if it just happened
Jim and Doug discuss the ever-increasing role of DNA evidence – as well as the rapidly growing use of publicly available DNA databases – in police investigations
Col. Kerry Gilpin says justice in her late sister’s three decade-old murder is “within reach” after a man was arrested in the 1986 slaying of the teenage girl
Mitchell Lynn Bacom, 63, was arrested for allegedly kidnapping 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier while she was babysitting 37 years ago and killing her
In policing, staying up to date on the latest and greatest can be difficult; here are 10 podcasts that will keep you current and your skills sharp
Detectives asked a criminalist to run DNA again, hoping improved technology would finally help them ID enough markers to upload the sample in the state’s system
The case is the longest-running unsolved murder of a police officer in the country
The bill would create a cold case unit within the Vermont State Police to investigate cold cases
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