5 Ways Cold Cases Get Solved in Real Life (Not on TV)
If you follow true crime and events across the United States, you’ve discovered why cold cases remain unsolved. However, if you only pay attention to the TV and social media, you’ll be forgiven for thinking every murder is solved in exactly 42 minutes plus commercials — a grizzled detective finds a matchbook, a lab tech types furiously on a keyboard and—voila—handcuffs.
The reality, unfortunately, is a lot messier, a lot sadder and frankly, a lot harder to watch.
Cold Cases: Hard Facts
Since the 1960s, more than 340,000 murders in America have gone unsolved, according to The Murder Accountability Project. That’s not just a statistic; that’s 200,000 families stuck in a perpetual state of waiting. This “clearance rate” has dropped from over 90% in the 1960s to around 50% today, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
So, why are we solving fewer murders despite having cooler gadgets and advanced technologies? And, most importantly, how do we fix it and see that justice is served?
The Anatomy of a Cold Case
Let’s clear up a misconception. When people hear “cold case,” they usually picture a dusty file from 1974 involving a Zodiac-style killer. But a case can quickly become cold — sometimes in as little as 72 hours!
According to research from the RAND Corporation, the solvability of a homicide drops off a cliff after just three days. If detectives don’t get a break early, the file starts its slow migration toward the “unsolved” shelf.
And it’s not just murders. Cold cases cover the whole grim spectrum of human behavior: missing persons, unidentified remains and sexual assaults. As Detective Sergeant Jason Moran of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department put it, leaving these files to gather dust is simply “wrong for the victims, the victims’ families and our communities.”
Moran is right: solving a crime, especially a murder, is a matter of truth and morality. A murder from thirty years ago doesn’t hurt less today. If anything, the lack of answers makes the wound fester.
Cold Cases: Why Are Clearance Rates Dropping?
It seems counterintuitive. We have DNA databases, cell phone tracking and cameras on every doorbell. Nearly all of the cold cases should be solved by now, right?
Retired NYPD “murder cop,” Vernon Geberth, suggests the bar for charging someone has been raised significantly. Prosecutors want “open-and-shut” cases to secure quick plea bargains. If the evidence isn’t perfect, charges might not get filed.
There’s also a trust issue. In many communities, the relationship with law enforcement is severely strained, to say the least. If people don’t trust the police, they do not talk or volunteer information very easily. Despite what “CSI” tells you, good old-fashioned talking — witness testimony — is still how most crimes get solved.
Five Ways to Crack a Cold Case
So, how do we turn the tide? It’s not an instant formula and demands grueling work and long hours. Here is how modern detectives are breathing life into old investigations.
1. Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact
The most obvious toolin solving cold cases is forensic science. We aren’t just talking about matching fingerprints anymore. We are talking about “phenotyping,” where DNA can predict what a suspect looks like, or “forensic genealogy,” which uses family trees to track down killers.
Sometimes, it’s just a matter of running old evidence through new systems. A DNA sample that yielded nothing fifteen years ago might score a direct hit in the CODIS database today.
2. Time Can Actually Be an Ally
We usually think time destroys evidence, but it can also loosen tongues. Relationships change. The terrifying gang leader from 1995 might be in a wheelchair today or no longer alive. The girlfriend who was too scared to speak up back then might have a different perspective now that she’s a grandmother.
A “no snitch” culture has a shelf life. As loyalties fade, witnesses who were once stone-silent might finally be ready to clear their conscience.
3. The Jailhouse Grapevine
Prisons are chatty places. If a suspect in a 1980 cold case is currently sitting in a cell for something else, there is a chance they’ve bragged about their exploits to a cellmate. Detectives often mine correctional records to see who was locked up with whom. It’s risk – jailhouse snitches aren’t exactly known for their impeccable honesty, but sometimes it’s the single thread that unravels the whole sweater.
4. Fixing Past Mistakes
This one requires a little humility. Sometimes, the original investigators just messed up. Maybe they got tunnel vision and focused on the wrong suspect too early, ignoring other leads. Perhaps they knocked on ten doors but skipped the last five houses on the block.
Reviewing a cold case means looking for these errors in unsolved crimes. It means admitting that the first team might have missed something obvious, like a witness who was never interviewed or a piece of evidence that was never tested.
5. Just Being Stubborn
Persistence with cold cases is a superpower. Detective Moran noted that just bringing a case up to “contemporary status”—re-submitting evidence, re-entering data—can trigger results.
Sadly, it is also about money. Cold case investigations are expensive. In Richmond, Virginia, the police department managed to boost its clearance rates into the 80s and 90s, but it took cash. They reduced caseloads for detectives and even paid to relocate witnesses to keep them safe.
Why Answers Still Matter — No Matter How Much Time Has Passed
Statistics are cold, but the reality is heartbreaking. Take Delicia Turner, whose husband was murdered in Boston in 2009. Years later, she’s still waiting. She watches true-crime shows, hoping to spot a technique the police missed. “I think the police just give up,” she said in a 2015 NPR interview.
This is the tragedy of the unresolved file. It leaves families in limbo, wondering if the person standing behind them in the grocery line is the one who destroyed their life.
We can do better. Whether it’s funding more DNA testing or just refusing to let these files sit in the dark, every victim deserves an answer. As Detective Moran said, “A person murdered thirty years ago is no less important than someone murdered today.
