Florida launches effort to solve cold cases with new technology

Florida has a new initiative devoted to cold cases.

Attorney General James Uthmeier said the state is using new technology to help solve them.

Uthmeier said there has been more than 21,000 unsolved murder cases since 1965 in Florida.

That includes nearly 900 cases of unidentified human remains and around 2,500 unsolved missing persons cases.

“Every one of these cases represents a situation where a victim likely had family members, friends that have had to suffer and go through the torment every day, in many of these cases for decades, wondering what happened to their loved ones,” Uthmeier said at a Wednesday Miami press conference.

With limited resources, Uthmeier said cold cases can collect dust. But new DNA-matching technology can help.

That's why the state is partnering with forensic science company Othram, which uses advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy databases to solve previously unsolvable crimes.

Uthmeier said the state has devoted more than $600,000 to projects with the company so far.

Uthmeier noted investigators are looking into cold cases spanning decades — including 1970s killings in Broward and Miami-Dade and a more recent double homicide in Miami Gardens.

“I can't give you more details right now, because if there are perpetrators out there, I don't want to put them on notice,” he said. “Rest assured, we are going to be investigating, and where we can, we will prosecute.”

Previous Attorney General Ashley Moody created a Cold Case Investigations Unit two years ago to help local law enforcement agencies on select unsolved cases. A small group of investigators and attorneys work on cases as requested.

If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.

This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.