Cold case team utilizes new techniques to investigate old Lawton homicide cases

By Mc Nelly Torres/staff

Time becomes the best ally for homicide detectives working on a cold case.

Because there's no statute of limitations on murder, detectives working in cold case units nationwide are now knocking on doors, talking to people and looking for answers 10 or 20 years after a homicide.

"People can't keep secrets sometimes," said San Antonio Police Department detective George Sadler.

Cases turn cold when there are no new leads and every investigative means has been exhausted.

Cases also often turn cold because people grow old and friendships are broken. Sometimes, however, people just can't live with their consciences.

"We got a case here where a guy came to the police station and confessed to a murder years after it happened," said Sadler, a member of San Antonio's cold case squad.

Across the country, cold case teams have become a growing trend in recent years. From Seattle to Miami, these teams have investigators looking into thousands of whodunits dating back decades.

The Lawton Police Department recently formed a cold case team to look into unsolved homicides in the city, said Capt. Bill Mathis, head of the LPD's Criminal Investigation Division.

"We want to bring a fresh look and perspective and see what can be done," the captain said.

Although there are several unsolved homicides in the city of Lawton from the past three decades, the six-member team is looking into dormant files on unsolved homicides in the 1990s. Mathis said the team's size will change depending on the case being reviewed.

According to LPD statistics, 73 homicides were reported during the 1990s. Six remain unsolved.

Detectives have met several times, chosen a case to review and looked at the evidence gathered at the time.

"Maybe something was overlooked at the time, but we also hope that new technology such as DNA will help," Mathis said.

Technology is now playing a role in closing unsolved murder cases. Something as simple as a $2,000 DNA comparison or a hit on a state's fingerprint registry often help clear homicides.

In other cases, though, a combination of technology and low-tech "gumshoe" tools - lots of patience, persuasive skills and good organization - also is crucial, Sadler said.

"It is tedious and time-consuming. You have to (spend) hours and hours ... reading a lot of paperwork," Sadler said.

Police also rely on luck. A traffic stop sometimes hits the jackpot.

"Luck is good in any police work, but patience is also important," Sadler said.

The San Antonio detective noted that police also ask for the public's and the media's help to solve many of the cases, explaining that local media in San Antonio often spotlight an unsolved murder.

"We had a guy who was watching television when the San Antonio Catholic archbishop was held hostage and he identified the criminal as the man who killed his father," Sadler said.

San Antonio detectives are now reviewing that case.

The San Antonio cold case squad has cleared 15 homicide cases in the past four years.

One of the oldest cold case squads - at the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami - has closed more than 130 homicide files, according to a newspaper report. That squad has been at work on cold cases for 17 years.

Other cities with similar programs include Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Columbus, Ohio, where a handful of detectives rotate into the squad every three months to focus on older unsolved murders.

Sadler, a 26-year detective, noted that several San Antonio detectives have attended FBI seminars on cold case investigations.

But there's not a smoking gun behind cold case teams.

One of the biggest obstacles, Sadler noted, is missing notes and evidence. Methods of collecting evidence change over time, which presents a problem when an old case is reviewed and detectives find that items such as photographs, files and notes are missing.

"It is a big problem in old cases (when) ... evidence (has) gone bad on us or is missing," Sadler said.

In other cases, witnesses' memories fade and people move, posing a problem for investigators.

Mathis noted that all the detectives on Lawton's cold case team have different expertise and plenty of experience in investigative work. One of them is a technical investigator, whose job is to collect and gather evidence at crime scenes.

Mathis said every member of the cold case team has been given a specific task to perform.

The captain said Lawton's cold case team was recently organized and is just getting started with its first case.

The detectives also have other tasks and investigations they are working on besides cold cases.

Still, Sadler warns that not all investigations result in an arrest and conviction. Sometimes homicide cases are cleared when the suspects die, are killed or are found in prison serving time for other crimes.

But the work serves a purpose for victims' relatives: They finally learn what happened to their loved ones and this, perhaps, gives them some sense of closure, Sadler said.

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