How many unsolved cases are being investigated now?
There are over 2000 unsolved rape cases since the mid- 1980s; and police have open files on around 300 of those. There are around 80 unsolved homicides, dating back to 1963. How has the emergence of changing technology, such as DNA analysis, affected investigations? In Virginia, all those arrested on felony (and Class I misdemeanor charges) must provide a DNA sample which is stored in the state DNA bank. This has been a boon to law enforcement closing our cases and to bringing perpetrators to justice. We have an excellent relationship with state laboratory scientists who are just as thrilled as we are when they discover a DNA “hit,” or match. As technology has gotten quicker, we’ve been able to answer the “who did it” question for more and more families and loved ones. Interestingly, of those cold case DNA hits, most often the perpetrator is a person not known to police; someone who was completely under the radar for all those years. So many television shows feature a cold case theme,
