Video: Cold Cases Present Unique Challenges

ABERDEEN, Miss.(WCBI)—Officer Eric Wilson’s death is one of more than two hundred thousand homicides in the U.S. that remained unsolved. There are several others in north Mississippi.

And the older the case gets the harder it is to make an arrest.

A case becomes cold after only a year.

” It could be several things that make it a cold case. There’s not enough evidence, there’s no weapon there’s not a name there’s not any source of people you can gather information from. So it kinda goes unsloved for a while till you can get things as far as proof,”said Aberdeen Chief Henry Randle.

Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Randle says after carrying a badge for 21 years, technology has definitely extended how law enforcement can investigate a crime.

” We can do a lot of things with technology: we can ping phones, we can look at evidence, computers only capitalize on things criminals think they’ve erased,”said Randle.

Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell says having enough information on a cold case is challenging, and making it stick in court is a bigger challenge.

“What he says or she says that’s going no where what you need is facts factual things that actually happened factual things or an actual statement that you heard that you can testify to and help us in court,”said Cantrell.

These investigations can be worked a few ways. Law enforcement have several ways to solve a cold crime, through the responding agency, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation or the case can be contracted out.

” You’ve got a lot of retired detectives who like to take on these responsibilities. They have way more time to go out of town, they have more resources, They have more time to call other agencies they’ve worked in the past, they are able to gather more evidence that we aren’t able to get,”said Randle.

Both Officers say a vital part of solving a cold case is.

” Your people, your citizens are your biggest support if you can get your citizens to give you a start some where that usually helps tremendously,”said Randle.

” If any body knows any thing about a cold case or they have any new evidence on any cold case we are willing to sit down and talk to any anytime,”said

You can also contact law enforcement anonymously through a crime stoppers organization.