Physical evidence is frequently required in cold case
investigations. Learn about the characteristics of cold cases as well as
examples of cold cases that have been solved.
What Is a Cold Case?
A cold case is a crime that has not been legally resolved by
investigators. Clear witnesses, suspects, and evidence are required to solve
crimes; without these elements, cases can become cold. These cases have the
potential to perplex police departments and thwart law enforcement agencies
such as the FBI. Unresolved investigations that last more than a year can be
disastrous for the family members of victims in unsolved murder, sexual
assault, or missing persons cases.
In certain states, criminal investigations involving
homicide and sexual assault are not subject to a statute of limitations and can
last as long as necessary. To reopen case files, cold case squads will seek new
evidence (human remains, fingerprints, crime scene eyewitnesses, camera
footage). Forensic science is also used by cold case units to better understand
older cases and original investigations.
Characteristics of Cold Cases
Cold cases are difficult to solve because they contain an
element of mystery and the passage of time.
Mystery: Cold cases may include violent crimes where the
perpetrator ensures that evidence is difficult to find, or serial killers who
relocate and pose a threat to public safety. Unidentified individuals, who may
lack identification or other distinguishing characteristics, may also be
cold-case perpetrators.
Time: Cold cases are also distinguished by long gaps in new
evidence. This is especially true for crimes committed years or decades ago
when advanced technology could not easily identify a sex offender or locate an
original suspect. Victims' families may request case reviews in unsolved
homicides and other crimes to check on investigative progress, but the reality
is that some cold cases never get solved.
Cold cases involving the disappearance and murder of white
people, particularly white women, receive more attention and media coverage
than crimes against people of color due to systemic inequities.
3 Examples of Cold Cases
Cold cases can be solved by detectives using investigation,
credible testimony, and useful evidence. Consider the following examples of
unresolved and solved cold cases:
1. Shaun Ritchie's disappearance: Ritchie went missing in
2014 at the age of twenty, and witnesses last saw him in the Strichen area of
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His family believes he was murdered over a debt, but
the case has remained unsolved.
2. Tanya Nicole Kach's kidnapping: Tanya Nicole Kach, an
eighth-grade student, went missing for ten years after being kidnapped by a
school security guard. After ten years, she escaped from the guard's
second-story bedroom. In 2007, the guard, Thomas Hose, pleaded guilty.
3. The murder of Morgan Harrington: Harrington, a
twenty-year-old Virginia Tech student, vanished during a Metallica concert in
2009. Six months later, police discovered her body. Years later, forensic
evidence and CCTV footage identified the perpetrator as Jesse L. Matthew, Jr.,
who was also responsible for the 2014 murder of University of Virginia student
Hannah Graham. Matthew pleaded guilty in 2016, effectively ending the case.
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