Mass. State Police to create Unresolved Case Unit

Massachusetts State Police Col. Kerry A. Gilpin on Tuesday announced the creation of a statewide Unresolved Case Unit to investigate unsolved homicides and other violent crimes.

The new unit will have five troopers, experienced homicide investigators who will work with the state’s district attorneys, who maintain jurisdiction over homicides in their counties. Together, they will identify open cases in which a renewed focus might prove helpful, state police said. The troopers will carry individual caseloads but will also work together, as needed, to pursue leads under the district attorneys’ direction.

“There are many cases over the years that, even in light of the outstanding and tireless efforts of police and prosecutors, have not been resolved for any of a variety of reasons,” Gilpin said in a statement. “I hope that by creating a dedicated unit to focus the investigative skills of these experienced troopers, backed by forensic and other resources of the Massachusetts State Police, we will build upon the excellent work already done on these cases and, in conjunction with the district attorneys, achieve the breakthroughs we need to secure justice for these victims and their families.”

The creation of an unresolved case unit has been a priority for the colonel, who served for many years in the department’s Crime Scene Services Section, documenting and preserving evidence critical to homicide and other major crime prosecutions, state police said. Tuesday’s announcement followed numerous discussions Gilpin initiated with district attorneys and victims’ advocates to explain her goals for such a unit, state police said.

It also came four days after Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins launched the Project for Unsolved Suffolk Homicides to revisit more than 1,300 open murder cases dating to the 1960s, as reported by the Herald last Friday.

“After a homicide, surviving family members spend a lifetime seeking to understand their new existence without their loved one,” Liam Lowney, executive director of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, said in a statement. “Families whose cases remain unsolved struggle with additional questions about what happened to their loved one and who was responsible. While these families’ lives will remain forever changed, the dedicated State Police detectives assigned to this unit will allow them an opportunity to learn answers to these unsettling questions.”

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, said he supports the initiative.

Gilpin is “very, very genuine in trying to get resolution to these cases,” Cruz told the Herald. “We’re going to try to get justice for every victim’s family.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2mKhd5Y