CPD Announces Joint Cold Case Task Force

CINCINNATI. Cincinnati has more than 400 unsolved murder cases (some dating back to the 1940s). The Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) has announced the formation of a joint unsolved case task force.

The task force will be led by two veteran CPD homicide detectives whose sole responsibility is solving unsolved homicide cases.

“During the investigation of these unknown cases, if there is preliminary evidence in (the case) that can be provided with new technologies, our detectives will activate the unknown case task force,” said Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Teetge.

When the task force is activated, detectives will have the support and resources of partners from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office.

“(ATF) has a long history of working very closely with all the agencies in this room to investigate and prosecute violent gun crimes in the city of Cincinnati,” said Daryl McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Columbus Field Office . “We intend to take a new look at old evidence and integrate the methods we’ve used.”

McCormick said some of the techniques ATF uses in Cincinnati include re-examining ballistics evidence with National Integrated Ballistic Information Network system.

“Obviously, DNA (analysis) didn’t exist back in 1940,” said Dr. Lakshmi Code Sammarco, Hamilton County coroner. “There are many new techniques that our office has introduced since 1995, when DNA testing first began.”

Teetge said the idea was born during a conversation she had with current Hamilton County District Attorney Melissa Powers.

“We started talking about it — both of us knowing that we have resources, some of them are limited — but if we can pool those resources, we can do it,” Teetge said. “That really got this conversation going.”

“During my career (as) a prosecutor, I have seen firsthand the healing power of closure for victims of crime,” said Powers, who is running for Hamilton County District Attorney in next week’s election. “The relief on the faces of family members when they hear the word ‘guilty’ in the courtroom is something you will never forget.”

When asked if there would be a cost to the task force, Teetge said, “I don’t see a negative financial impact on the city.”

for Hope Dudleythe creation of the task force means there is a chance she will feel at peace after 17 years of patiently waiting for answers about her son’s death.

Daniel “Chaze” Dudley was 26 years old when someone killed him in a drive-by shooting in September 2007.

Hope Dudley

“You don’t want someone to hug you because you don’t know if it’s the person who killed your child,” Dudley said when asked what life is like for a family with a cold.

She is asking anyone with information about any unsolved homicide to call CrimeStoppers anonymously. Tips are welcome at 513-352-3040 or online.

“For families like mine, you don’t think no one is listening,” she said. “So I’m encouraged, and my goal is to encourage someone else to actually listen.”