The Cold Case Problem

The purpose of this chapter is to present a brief overview of the background of homicide in the United States, how it has been identified and recorded, and the emergent basis for practical unsolved homicide investigation. In addition, this chapter will also review trends and patterns of twentieth- and twenty-first-century homicides in the United States, and how these affect the later-day investigations and operations of homicide investigators assigned to investigate unsolved, cold case homicides in the twenty-first century. In this author’s experience, these eras from the 1960s to the present day harbor the bulk of such cases as may confront current investigators. This chapter will review homicide and homicide data to identify the scope of unsolved murders in the United States at this time and will provide an overview of the trends and advances in the forensic sciences and their application to cold case homicide investigation. The chapter will conclude by reviewing circumstances that contribute to cases growing cold and to recent trends to reinvestigate such cases.