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Recently there have been a number of breakthroughs in cold cases, otherwise known as unsolved homicides, around the state.
In 1980 the body of Ronald Moses, a sailor, was found in the Willamette River. Now, 30 years later, the murder case has culminated with the arraignment of a suspect. Moses' mother says she's relieved to know the truth about her son's killer.
Last month, police arrested a man in the small Coos County town of Coquille, charging him with the murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman ten years ago. These are just two in a growing list of cold cases that have been in the news over the past few months. In some cases, arrests are not possible because the suspects are either dead or already incarcerated, but victims' families still say they are relieved to have some resolution and to know that their loved ones were not forgotten.
One reason for the recent uptick in activity in these cases is technological advances, such as DNA analysis. That's allowed detectives and forensic experts to glean new information from old evidence. The Oregon State Police forensic lab handles DNA evidence for all the law enforcement agencies in the state. According to DNA supervisor Susan Hormann, new funding resources have lead to a surge in new evidence in cases that were previously considered "cold."
Not all of these cases get solved, of course. Many more families are still waiting for answers.
Have you — or someone you know — been affected by an unsolved homicide? Do you work as a detective? What does solving a cold case mean to those involved? What does it mean to the community at large?
GUESTS:
- Karen Hull: Mother of Walter Ackerson, whose murderer recently confessed 20 years after Walter disappeared in Yachats
- Mark Dannels: Chief of Police in Coquille
- Susan Hormann: DNA supervisor at Oregon State Police forensic laboratory
Tagged as: cold case · crime · law · police
Photo credit: AJC1 / Creative Commons
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I am glad law enforcement solved some cold cases recently. It's hard to imagine something worse than having a loved one murdered.
But the real crime is how ineffective the police are.
Here's the brutal statistics: out of 3,268 murders since 1980 1,189 remain unsolved.in Oregon. That means over a third of the homicides over the last two decade are cold cases. (According to a Scripps Howard News Service study of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report)The clearance rates for aggravated assault, forcible rape, robbery are worse. Only 16 percent of the reported rapes are solve. That mean 84 percent go unsolved! Eighty four percent. You read it correctly, eighty four percent. I had to read it a half dozen times (according to City of Portland Auditor Gary Blackmer).
If that wasn't bad enough the statistics for solving property crimes are worse than the rape statistics.
I had two bikes in the last five years. . With less than 1 in 8 chance of getting it back why bother. If I reported the crimes that would just give the insurance companies an excuse to raise my neighbors and my rates.
I am sure I am not the only person - no wonder reported crime is going down!
I did report it when my car was stolen. The cops did "find" the car (but not the thieves) after some home owner finally reported the "abandoned" car on their street - 6 months after the fact! I got my car back after paying the towing bill.
The old adage "DON'T DO THE CRIME IF YOU CAN'T DO THE TIME" doesn't apply anymore because criminals understand that "YOU WILL NOT DO THE TIME IF THE POLICE CAN'T SOLVE THE CRIME." -
As I recall back in the late 60s or early 70s in Central Oregon someone attacked and killed either one or two women with an axe or hatchet. They were camping and were attacked in the night and the case was never solved. Anyone heard of that?
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Yes, and there was Judy Reader also.
The joke went around that "Bend Police are investigating" was the last we would hear about any such case.
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The thing I always want to ask, is "what would the investigators recommend for preventing any similar crime in the future"? For both the victim and the perpetrator. If people can prevent some bad thing from happening an awful lot of grief can be averted.
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COLD CASE THAT WE ALL MISSED: Have you ever stood on the banks of the Willamette River in downtown Portland in the past decade, taken in the view and noticed something suspicious? Something Fishy?
After 9/11/01, many Americans were sad and anxious. I was. Some went into major depression. Some Americans in desperation thought the world was ending and attempted /committed suicide. One woman was last seen on the Ross Island bridge a month later, and a witness possibly saw her jump. No body was found. No suicide note. She went on a Missing Persons List. Cold Case PDX.
Apparently the bodied floated around the Willamette River downtown for the good part of a decade before it was found by the OMSI Museum in 2008. This is on the Front Porch of a City of Millions. Millions of people walk the waterfront. Hundreds of thousands of cars drive by. Hundreds of boats, waterskiers, canoeist and swimmers plied the water. The Rose Festival and Carnival, Jazz Festival, Brewfest, and other celebrations came and went and came and went. A guy named Obama came by and spoke at the waterfront in front of 75,000 Oregonians on his way to the Whitehouse. The corpse was less than 200 yds away from the podium.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2008/05/dna_mystery.html
The body was finally found on Mar2008 on the dock of OMSI. And much of the hair and flesh intact. It was still wearing leggings. On autopsy it still had gallstones.
How do you hide a body? Answer: In Broad Daylight, in Front Door of a City, in Plain View of Millions for almost a Decade. Makes you think how many other bodies lie undiscovered in the Willamette River Waterfront. Would Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan or Scoobee Doo have sniffed this out? Why hide things when simple things are missed in plain view?
But we all missed it. Our windows of perception may often times be bricked in. I'd advise you: Keep your mouth closed when you go swimming.