Tell me your thoughts on cold case reviews of murders that are more than 1/2 a century old

[collectingcpd]

There have been 2 reports in the last 48hrs on BBC news about cold case reviews on child murders carried out 60 and 50 years ago. I’m prepared to be told I’m wrong, but I think this is a bit of a waste of scarce police money. If they haven’t found the killer in 50 years, they are unlikely to find him now (although I appreciate there are rare exceptions).The killer is probably dead. If he or she isn’t dead they obviously haven’t turned into a serial killer, so aren’t a significant risk to the public and we’ve already missed the opportunity to serve justice as they will have lived almost their whole lives as a free person. The parents of the child are dead, so they won’t see justice served or get closure, and I simply don’t believe one quote that says ‘a shadow will hang over this valley until justice is served’, how? As I said, I’m happy to be told why my views are wrong, with some explanation, but I think that police money would be better spent on crime prevention now, than trying to solve a case that in all likelihood is never going to be solved, and is going to be if no benefit to anyone living.

My take is you'd think very differently if it was your loved one who had been killed and no one had been brought to justice.

It’s the right thing to do, nobody should get away with murder.

^^ what she said.

50 years sounds like a long time when you're young.

Then one day you wake up and you realise 50 years is nothing.

If someone had murdered me 50 years ago, my parents - who are now in their late seventies - would still be keen to see justice served .

I think you're wrong.

I think I agree with you. As awful as it is, our already stretched time and resources are better spent elsewhere.

I too suspect you are young. My parents are their seventies. If their child had been murdered, do they not deserve justice? And cold cases are solved through DNA or the subsequent prosecution of original suspects for other murders.

Also even when parents are dead, there are often other loved ones such as siblings, childhood friends and other relatives who still want to see justice served. There have been a number of high profile cases of children being murdered where it is their brother or sister who continues the fight to find their murderer.

Cold cases reviews are often investigated by retired detectives who now have access to recent technology. Siblings and parents always deserve closure.

I didn't know that. So any cost will be fairly minimal.

Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I’m mid 40s......so wether I’m young or not is subjective.
I don’t think I would think differently if it was my relative.......I’ve thought about this a lot. Yes, def in the immediate aftermath I’d want justice......but 50 years on? I’m not so sure. It doesn’t bring the relative back, which is really all I’d want.

I have had a relative murdered. I wanted justice.
In the nicest possible way, you have no idea what you would actually want if your child or sibling was murdered.

It doesn’t bring the relative back, which is really all I’d want.

OP, by that logic no murders would be investigated.

If someone you went to school with had been killed - perhaps by one of your neighbours - don't you think there'd be a benefit for the wider community in finding the truth?

And relatives often want to know what actually happened. And in some cases, where their loved ones body is it can be retrieved and a proper funeral can take place.
Humans generally do not cope well with uncertainty. Our need to know seems to be naturally very strong.

I don’t think I would think differently if it was my relative.......I’ve thought about this a lot

amand thank you for sharing, and I’m very sorry for your loss. And you are right, I haven’t experienced it, so I have no idea how I would feel. But that logic could be played out (and is played out) daily for almost any circumstance in life. Politicians make decisions every day about things they have no understanding or experience of. It’s kind of shy I’m asking......sometimes I have slightly off the wall views on things, and I’ve largely learned to keep my opinions or thoughts to my self......I was just wondering what the larger consensus is.

If someone you went to school with had been killed - perhaps by one of your neighbours - don't you think there'd be a benefit for the wider community in finding the truth?
Yes, of course. But not 50 years later. Most people, except for immediate family will have moved on. If someone I’d been to school with had been murdered and they found out who it was today I’d think ‘that’s interesting’ and carry on eating my breakfast. It’s not going to impact my life. I totally understand that the impact would be huge on a family member.

I understand the logic of your position, CPD. People are not only logical though- they are emotional and spiritual as well. A community where an unsolved murder has happened will still be affected decades later- children will whisper about it and share scary tales about ghosts, adults will wonder and perhaps be looking sideways at their neighbours.

People need closure.

And there isn't usually a full new investigation- more that new forensic techniques are applied to existing evidence.

OP if it was 100 years ago, I would agree with you. There does come a point where we have to say it was too long ago. But parents of a child murdered 50 years ago may only be in their fifties or sixties. I agree that the resources used should be limited. But I think relatives still deserve to find out what happened.
And people have been prosecuted for murders that happened a long time ago. The longest app between a murder and a confession is nearly seventy years.

OP, a girl I went to school with disappeared, back in the late seventies. Her body has never been found. I and many many thousands of people - not just her family - would dearly love to find out what happened to her.

You say you've learned to keep your 'off the wall' opinions to yourself. I can see why.

There is nothing wrong with having off the wall opinions. But it does make sense to listen to those who have experienced the issue you are thinking about. Of course people may want every resource thrown at an issue that affects them, and that is not realistic. Spending decisions always have to be made.
Also not true to say that just because a murder was not solved, that that murderer did not go on to murder anyone else. Murders are not always linked by the police.

But it does make sense to listen to those who have experienced the issue you are thinking about. I agree completely. Thank you for your thoughts.

I'm guessing the police don't use a lot of resources for such old cases but mostly appeal for new information.

Over time people's loyalties change. Someone they were protecting from the police 50 years ago may no longer be a friend.
Someone who knows something they were keeping secret may no longer want it on their concious and are now prepared to tell.
I think it is worth the police trying. The friends and relatives of the victims will never stop wanting to know what happened.

But parents of a child murdered 50 years ago may only be in their fifties or sixties 60s maybe, not sure there have been many 10 year old mothers in the past 50 years

In addition to all the reasons pp have explained about giving answers to a community and family, there is still a lot to learn from solving cold cases. Technology changes but people don’t (at least not that much), so if cases can be solved and the police learn something about how to investigate better then it helps all of us. Added to that, solving these cases sends a message that perpetrators are never off the hook, that they can always be caught eventually no matter how clever they think they’ve been. I think that’s incredibly important for our society.