A cold case is a crime or an accident that has not yet been fully solved and is not the subject of a recent criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or retained material evidence, as well as fresh activities of the suspect. New technical methods developed after the case can be used on the surviving evidence to re-analyze the causes, often with conclusive results.
Typically, cold cases are violent or other major felony crimes, such as murder or rape which—unlike unsolved minor crimes—are generally not subject to a statute of limitations.
Sometimes disappearances can also be considered cold cases if the victim has not been seen or heard from for some time, such as the case of Natalee Holloway or the Beaumont Children.
About 35% of those cases are not really cold cases at all. Some cases become instantly cold when a seeming closed (solved) case is re-opened due to the discovery of new evidence pointing away from the original suspect(s). Other cases are cold when the crime is discovered well after the fact – for example, by the discovery of human remains. Some cases become classified cold cases when a case that had been originally ruled an accident or suicide is re-designated as a murder when new evidence emerges.
The John Christie murders is a notable case, when Timothy Evans was wrongly executed for the alleged murders of his wife and child. Many other bodies were later found in the house where they lived with Christie, and he was then executed for the crimes. The case helped a campaign against capital punishment in Britain.
A case is considered unsolved until a suspect has been identified, charged, and tried for the crime. A case that goes to trial and does not result in a conviction can also be kept on the books pending new evidence.
In some cases a suspect, often called a "person of interest" or "subject" is identified early on but no evidence definitively linking the subject to the crime is found at that time and more often than not the subject is not forthcoming with a confession. This often happens in cases where the subject has an alibi, alibi witnesses, or lack of forensic evidence. Eventually the alibi is disproved, the witnesses recant their statements, or advances in forensics help bring the subjects to justice.
Sometimes a case is not solved but forensic evidence helps to determine that the crimes are serial crimes. The BTK case and Original Night Stalker (the latter still unsolved) cases are such examples. The Texas Rangers have established a website in the hopes that it shall elicit new information and investigative leads.
In 2005 Edmond Jay Marr pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder to the March 1983 kidnap and murder of Elaine Graham, 29, a nurse and student at California State University at Northridge. He became a suspect when acquaintances noted that he was in the immediate area of her disappearance and was seen at a sister's home only a few blocks where the victim's car was found. Her skeletal remains were found by hikers in a wooded area halfway between where she was last seen alive and where the car was found some six months later. A knife found in the suspect's possession (when he was arrested for armed robbery a month later) was later proven to be the murder weapon when DNA evidence, unavailable in 1983, provided by Elaine's daughter matched blood found in the knife's crevices.
In 2002 Edward Freiburger was found guilty of 1st degree murder in the February 1961 murder of 60-year-old John Orner, a cab driver in Columbia, South Carolina. Orner was robbed and murdered on the job with a .32 H&R pistol. Freiburger, then 19 and a soldier stationed at nearby Fort Jackson, became a suspect when it was discovered that he purchased such a pistol at a local pawnshop only hours before Orner received the dispatch call that would be his last. It was bolstered by the fact he went AWOL that night. He was picked up by Tennessee State Police a month later who found the gun in his possession. However ballistics tests were inconclusive and Freiburger was never charged. In 2002 a private firearms examiner working for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (or SLED) took the time to clean up the slugs and matched the bullets to the gun.
In 2003 John Henry Horton, 56, was arrested for the July 1974 murder of 13-year-old Lizbeth Wilson in Prairie Village, Kansas. Wilson had been last seen running across the field of Shawnee Mission East High School by her brother, John, who was racing ahead of her, at about 7 p.m. Wilson's remains were found in an empty field some six months later. Horton became a suspect when it became evident that Lizbeth was last known to be alive at the school. He was the only known adult working on the school grounds that night. This was bolstered when other girls reported that Horton had tried to lure them into the school. Moreover, the police discovered that Horton had taken an extended break from 8:30 p.m. until nearly midnight that night. They also searched his car and found a duffel bag and a bottle of chloroform, which Horton explained by saying he used the chloroform to "get high.” However the evidence was circumstantial and he went free until 2002, when investigators interviewed a witness overlooked in 1974, who, then 15, had been given chloroform by Horton and while unconscious had been sexually molested by him. This led to his arrest and conviction in 2003. However, the story did not end there. The Kansas State Supreme Court, in 2005, overturned the conviction on the basis that the "prior bad act" had not been placed on public record, so the witness's testimony should not have been allowed. However they did grant leave to re-try and re-file the case. This time the evidence, which was purely circumstantial, as well as the testimony of two of Horton's fellow inmates, was enough for a second jury to declare him guilty.
In 2003, Gerald Mason was arrested and charged with the murder of two El Segundo police officers, as well as rape and robbery, dating back to 1957.
In 2011, 73-year-old Samuel Evans pleaded guilty to cold cases from 1968 and 1972 after DNA evidence linked him to the slayings. The 1968 cold case solved by scientists at the Seattle Crime Lab is the oldest case ever solved using DNA evidence.
Sometimes a viable suspect has been overlooked or simply ignored due to then-flimsy circumstantial evidence, the presence of a likelier suspect (who is later proven to be innocent), or a tendency of investigators to zero in on someone else to the exclusion of other possibilities (which goes back to the likelier suspect angle)—known as "tunnel vision":
A notable example is the Peggy Hettrick murder case in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Another example is the Carol Hutto murder case in Florida. In December 1976, the 16-year old's body was found in a lake near an abandoned house in Largo, Florida. She was last seen alive the night before, when she received a call. Suspicion fell on her half-brother Jerry Irwin, then 17, who had stayed out all night and whose route home took him past the house and lake. Moreover, he had a long juvenile record of troublemaking and some violence. As a result, the police focused in on him, even though they could not make a case against him. This, however, allowed a more likely suspect to escape detection for nearly 18 years; even then, four more were needed to bring the suspect, Carol's boyfriend Jimmy Kuenn, to trial for the crime.
With the advent of and improvements to DNA testing and other forensics technology, many cold cases are being re-opened and prosecuted. Police departments are opening cold case units whose job is to re-examine cold case files. DNA evidence helps in such cases but as in the case of fingerprints, it is of no value unless there is evidence on file to compare it to.
The identity of Jack the Ripper is a notorious example of an outstanding cold case, with numerous suggestions as to the identity of the serial killer. Similarly, the Zodiac Killer has been studied extensively for 40 years, with numerous suspects discussed and debated. The perpetrators of the Wall Street bombing of 1920 have never been positively identified, though the Galleanists, a group of Italian anarchists, are widely believed to have planned the explosion. The burning of the Reichstag building in 1933 remains controversial and although Marinus van der Lubbe was tried, convicted and executed for arson, it is possible that the Reichstag fire was perpetrated by the Nazis to enhance their power and destroy democracy in Germany.
Gerald Mason (1957)
Lucy Ann Johnson (1961)
16th Street Baptist Church bombing (1963)
Barbara Ann Hackman Taylor (The Tent Girl) (1967)
Helen Betty Osborne (1971)
Steven Stayner (1972)
BTK Killer (1974-1991)
Martha Moxley (1975)
Holly Maddux (1977)
The Unabomber (1978 - 1995)
Etan Patz (inconclusive) (1979)
Caledonia Jane Doe (1979)
The Unabomber (1978 - 1995)
BTK Killer (1974-1991)
Azaria Chamberlain (1980)
Tina Harmon (1981)
Adam Walsh (Inconclusive) (1981)
Roger Wheeler (1981)
Altemio Sanchez, known as the Bike Path Rapist (1981 - 2006)
Gary Ridgway known as the 'Green River Killer' (1982 - 1998)
Jeanine Nicarico (1983)
John Sohus (1985)
Sherri Rasmussen (1986)
Gregory Webb (1986)
Lita McClinton (1987)
Carlina White (1987)
Lil Miss (1988)
Signal Mountain murders (1988)
Oba Chandler (1989)
Sharon Marshall (1989)
Renee Baker (1989 - 1993)
Jacob Wetterling (1989)
BTK Killer (1974-1991)
The Unabomber (1978 - 1995)
Altemio Sanchez, known as the Bike Path Rapist (1981 - 2006)
Gary Ridgway known as the 'Green River Killer' (1982 - 1998)
Renee Baker (1989 - 1993)
Beverly McGowan (1990)
Jessica Keen (1991)
Timothy Wiltsey (1991)
Jaycee Lee Dugard (1991)
Shauna Howe (1992)
Brown's Chicken massacre (1993)
Charlie Keever and Jonathan Sellers (1993)
Mia Zapata (1993)
Madalyn Murray O'Hair (1995)
Centennial Olympic Park bombing (1996)
Tanya Nicole Kach (1996)
Aimee Willard (1996)
Eric Robert Rudolph (1996 - 1998)
Altemio Sanchez, known as the Bike Path Rapist (1981 - 2006)
2001 anthrax attacks (inconclusive) (2001)
Chandra Levy (2001)
Miranda Gaddis and Ashley Pond (2002)
Shawn Hornbeck (2002)
Kidnapping of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight (2002 - 2004)
Murder of Daniel Morcombe (2003)
Liz Carmichael (2004)
Andrew Kissel (2006)
Deaths of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce (2008)
Murder of Morgan Dana Harrington (2009)
McStay family murder (2010)
Abby and Andrew Borden (1892)
Villisca axe murders (1912)
Hinterkaifeck murders (1922)
Texarkana Moonlight Murders (1946)
The Black Dahlia murder (1947)
Taman Shud Case (1948)
Barbara and Patricia Grimes (1956)
Boy in the Box (Philadelphia) (1957)
Rosemarie Nitribitt (1957)
Walker family murders (1959)
Wanda Beach Murders (1965)
The Beaumont children (1966)
Harold Holt (1967)
Zodiac Killer (1968 - 1969)
Betsy Aardsma (1969)
Disappearance of Robin Graham (1970)
D. B. Cooper (1971)
Freeway Phantom killer (1971- 1972)
Alphabet murders (1971 - 1973)
Kidnapping of Carlos Ramires da Costa (1973)
Sandra Rivett / Disappearance of Lord Lucan (1974)
Arlis Perry (1974)
Karen Silkwood (1974)
Barbara Colby (1975)
Jimmy Hoffa (1975)
Disappearance of the Lyon sisters (1975)
Bradford Bishop (1976)
Sumter County Does (1976)
Oakland County Child Killer (1976 - 1977)
Helen Brach (1977)
Oklahoma girl scout murders (1977)
Burger Chef murders (1978)
Murder of actor Bob Crane (1978)
Connecticut River Valley Killer (1978 - 1987)
Original Night Stalker (1979 - 1986)
Connecticut River Valley Killer (1978 - 1987)
Original Night Stalker (1979 - 1986)
Keddie Murders (1981)
Ken McElroy (1981)
Chicago Tylenol murders (1982)
Disappearance of Johnny Gosch (1982)
Disappearance of Tony Jones (1982)
Tammy Lynn Leppert (1983)
Disappearance of Kevin Andrew Collins (1984)
Murder of Mark Tildesley (1984)
Assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme (1986)
Colonial Parkway Killer (1986 - 1989)
Murder of Jaclyn Dowaliby (1988)
Kidnapping of Michaela Garecht (1988)
New Bedford Highway Killer (1988 - 1989)
Michael Anthony Hughes (1989)
Amy Mihaljevic (1989)
Las Cruces Bowling Alley massacre (1990)
Disappearance of Michael Dunahee (1991)
Disappearance of Ben Needham (1991)
The Springfield Three (1992)
Piotr Jaroszewicz and Alicja Solska- Jaroszewicz (1992)
Holly Piirainen (1993)
Murder of Deanna Cremin (1995)
Disappearance of Morgan Nick (1995)
Jodi Huisentruit (1995)
JonBenet Ramsey (1996)
Murder of rapper Tupac Shakur (1996)
Disappearance of Kristin Smart (1996)
Long Island serial killer (1996 - 2013)
Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley (1998)
Suzanne Jovin (1998)
Long Island serial killer (1996 - 2013)
Susan Berman (2000)
Death of Molly Bish (2000)
Bonnie Lee Bakley (2001)
Murder of Jill-Lyn Euto (2001)
Robert William Fisher (2001)
Jennifer Servo (2002)
Jonathan Luna (2003)
Disappearance of Maura Murray (2004)
Rashawn Brazell (2005)
Ray Gricar (2005)
Murder of Alexandra (Alex) Anaya (2005)
Disappearance of Tara Grinstead (2005)
Disappearance of Natalee Holloway (2005)
Murder of Officer Thomas T. Wood (2006)
Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2007)
Shelly Miscavige (2007)
Mitrice Richardson (2009)
West Mesa murders (2009)
Disappearance of Rebecca Coriam (2011)
Murder of Officer Jason Ellis (2013)
Long Island serial killer (1996 - 2013)
In the movie Max Payne, Detective Max Payne works in Cold Case, NYPD.
The phrase "Cold Case" is found in a number of story and book titles. Examples include:
L.L. Bartlett (April 18, 2010). "Cold Case". A Jeff Resnick Mystery. ASIN B003I84LYW. Polaris Press. This short story inspired the fourth Jeff Resnick book, Bound by Suggestion.
Philip Gourevitch (Jul 10, 2002). A Cold Case. ISBN 9780312420024. True crime.
Julia Platt Leonard (May 1, 2012). Cold Case. ISBN 9781442420090. A children's book/mystery.
Nichelle Walker (May 15, 2012). Cold Case Love. NWHoodTales Publishing. ISBN 0979402832. An urban novel.
Richard H. Walton, ed. (June 13, 2006). Cold Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques (1 ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 084932209X. An education and reference book.
Stephen White (Feb 1, 2001). Cold Case. Alan Gregory. ISBN 978-0-525-94526-0.
Kate Wilhelm (Aug 1, 2009). Cold Case. Barbara Holloway Novels.
Cold Case Files (2008) and Cold Case Files Vol. 2 (2012) are compilation albums by the rap group Onyx.
"Cold Case Love" is a song on Rihanna's Rated R album, released November 23, 2009 on the Def Jam label.
"Stella: The Cold Case" is an EP by Aafke Romeijn.
The Canadian television series Cold Squad (1998–2005), the British television series Waking the Dead (2000–2011) and the US television series Cold Case (2003–2010) all follow groups of fictional homicide detectives who investigate cold cases. They are set in Vancouver, London and Philadelphia, respectively.
Cold Case Files (1999–2006) is a documentary-style television series recounting actual solved cold cases.
New Tricks is a BBC series revolving around retired CID officers acting as consultants to serving officers and investigating unsolved cold cases.
