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American Morning
Law Enforcement Officials Examine Cold Cases
Aired August 14, 2001 - 10:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: While Chandra Levy's whereabouts remain mystery, Levy's parents have been successful in keeping their daughter's case in the headlines, but for thousands of other families outside the media spotlight and Washington scandals the search for missing loved one can be lonely and difficult.
Law enforcement officials are meeting in Maryland today. They're talking about those unsolved cases that have run cold.
And that's where we find our Jeanne Meserve joining us more -- with more now from Maryland.
Good morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Some people look at the disappearance of Chandra Levy and wonder if this is a case that will ever be solved. Thousands of murder and missing-persons cases never are, of course, but in recent years law enforcement has given a new emphasis to re-opening so-called "cold cases"; those are cases where leads have simply dried up, cases that have been shelved.
With me now is Louis Eliopulos. He has written a tome here called the "Death Investigators Handbook." He is the senior homicide analyst with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Thanks a lot for joining us here today.
When it comes to looking at these cold cases, are the techniques so very different than they are from recent case?
LOUIS ELIOPULOS, HOMICIDE ANALYST: Not really, it's the same basics. Three things solve homicide: witness statements, confessions and physical evidence.
MESERVE: But your technique does differ somewhat, doesn't it?
ELIOPULOS: Yes. With a hot case you start with the body and work your way out, progress to witnesses and suspects. With a cold case we take a different look, we come from the outside and work back towards the body.
MESERVE: And why do you do that? ELIOPULOS: Well, we don't want to alert the person, first of all, that we're, that we're taking another look at it. It's very rare that we work a homicide case and not have a suspect in mind. So we don't want to alert that, we don't want witnesses that may be influenced by this person to come back and talk to this person, let him know that we're coming.
MESERVE: Now, your at a conference here today to share information and techniques. You were telling me about one of these seminars which in fact lead to the successful resolution of a cold case.
ELIOPULOS: Yes, we actually were working a case with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Jacksonville, Florida, and I was lecturing to Cold Case, and one of the things that we do in this cold case seminar is we ask the detectives to bring an unsolved case while we have the experts and look at it. And I'm showing this case and one of the detective starts to get pale as a ghost, and I'm telling him, you need to take a break, you know, these are pretty graphic photographs. And he goes, no, it's not that, I brought two cases and they look just like that. And we noticed that he was from the state New Hampshire, where the suspect was from. So we began talking with him, with our task force team, and actually found DNA on his case that linked to our suspect, and we were able to piggyback both of those cases and get a conviction on both of those cases.
MESERVE: Another cold case solved.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
ELIOPULOS: Another one solved.
MESERVE: There is, of course, one case that has gotten a lot of national scrutiny. It is not a cold case yet, but could be some day. That's the case of JonBenet Ramsey.
Brian Cabell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The murder of JonBenet Ramsey on Christmas night 1996 seemed like a case that might be easily solved. After all, the six-year-old's body was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family home, and a note, which turned out to be bogus, was found at the base of stairs. There were no signs of forced entry.
Suspicion from the start focused on the parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who, although immediately hiring attorneys for themselves, vehemently denied they were involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, JANUARY 1, 1997)
PATSY RAMSEY, MOTHER OF JONBENET: Your baby is closest to you. There's someone out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABELL: Many experts agree that Bolder Police may have botched the investigation during the crucial first hours when they believed JonBenet had been kidnapped. Family and friends were allowed to circulate through the house, possibly compromising evidence. And it was John himself who actually found the body in the basement and picked it up.
The district attorney ultimately decided not to prosecute. A grand jury met, but they too decided there was insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors hired an outside investigator to take a thorough look at the case. He came away convinced that an intruder, not the Ramseys, had killed JonBenet.
The Ramseys took a polygraph test given by someone they hired. They passed it.
Bolder investigators interviewed them again just one year ago. No apparent progress was made.
LIN WOOD, RAMSEY'S ATTORNEY: Number one, contrary to the repeated statements made, this family has for years cooperated with this investigation.
CABELL: Bolder hired a new police chief three years ago and a new district attorney assumed office earlier this year. But while police say the case is still open and they're working it, there appear to be no new leads and little hope in this baffling case.
Brian Cabell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: And next hour we're going to be taking a look at a cold case that was solved right here in Annapolis, Maryland 27 years after the murder took place.
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