LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan is tackling its mountain of unsolved homicides head-on, directing $250,000 to the Michigan State Police’s First District Cold Case Unit. This funding is a slice of the $1 million earmarked in the state’s $82.5 billion budget to bring long- forgotten cases back to the forefront.

Unsolved murders: a national epidemic.

State Police Det. Sgt. Larry Rothman has described the surge in cold case homicides to the Lansing State Journal (LSJ) as an “epidemic,” a sentiment echoed nationwide. Despite advances in forensic technology, the number of unsolved homicides continues to climb. FBI data shared by the Murder Accountability Project highlights nearly 340,000 unsolved cases in the U.S. from 1965 to 2022. In Michigan alone, around 19,000 murders from 1980 to 2019 remain unsolved, according to Project: Cold Case.

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Rothman’s team, responsible for nine counties including Ingham, Eaton, and Jackson, is currently juggling approximately 63 cases. However, local police departments also have their own backlog of cold cases, adding to the collective burden.

Budget breakdown: where the money goes:

The newly allocated $250,000 for Rothman’s unit is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Shanon Banner, Director of Communications for the State Police, outlined the distribution:

  • $400,000 is split between Western Michigan University and Northern Michigan University for cold case course programs for programmatic and operational expenses
  • $200,000 goes to the State Police’s Forensic Science Division
  • $400,000 is allocated to the Special Investigation Division ($250,000 must be used to support cold case investigations handled by the First District team in Lansing)

The specifics of how the First District Cold Case Unit will utilize its share remain under wraps, but the aim is clear: to breathe new life into dormant cases and bring justice to long-suffering families.

Decades of documentation and determination.

Cold case investigations are notoriously time-consuming, requiring a meticulous review of extensive documentation. Rothman explained to LSJ that each case involves starting from square one, often re- interviewing every potential witness. His team, consisting of two detectives and a dedicated analyst, digs through decades-old evidence, hoping to uncover new leads.

Prioritizing these cases is a strategic endeavor, factoring in the amount of evidence, available information, and the viability of witnesses. It’s not uncommon for a single case to take years to investigate, with detectives relentlessly pursuing every possible lead.

From cold to closure.

As Michigan steps up its efforts to solve these cold cases, the hope is that these renewed investigations will finally bring closure to families and justice to victims. Local police departments, universities, and the State Police’s Forensic Science Division are all playing crucial roles in this concerted effort. With increased funding and resources, these teams aim to make significant strides in turning cold cases into solved ones.