Reopening a Cold Case

CNN is reporting that Natalie Wood's sister has called on the LA County Sheriff's Department to reopen the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Natalie's death. Apparently, the captain of the boat, who has since written a book about the episode now admits to keeping quiet about what he knew at the request of Wood's actor husband Robert Wagner. This news follows on the heels of the DA in Mass who announced holding an inquiry into the death of Seth Bishop at the hands of his sister.

For an investigator, reopening a cold case represents a great challenge and test of your investigation skills. In years past, when I still did work for members of the public, I successfully moved a couple of cold cases forward to a point of criminal charges. I also had the opportunity to investigate anew old homicides as part of the defense team for people charged with old killings when I was still working in Calif. A cold case is a cold case whether you are proving guilt or raising reasonable doubt.

So how should an investigator called on to take a fresh look at an old case go about it? For starters, it is essential to have all of the police reports that were prepared during the original investigation. A new pair of eyes often sees things that got overlooked. For example witnesses that were never interviewed because they weren't available or information that was accepted at face value rather than being dissected as it should have been. Read the materials twice through to make sure that you get up to speed and that you get ever detail. Look for information that needed to be confirmed and information that calls into question the theory of the case that was pursued at the time the case went cold.

Next, create an A List/ B List of people who need to be located and interviewed. Include those people who were interviewed during the course of the investigation if it looks like the information they provided was ignored or minimized because it didn't fit the theory of the case. Include on your list the information you wish to cover with them.

Run a background investigation on the main witnesses and also the main players. Update the background beyond the time frame of the event. This is critical to getting a better understanding about the people involved. You can also use the background process to locate updated locations for the people you need to contact.

Then its time to knock on doors. Don't say that you are investigating as that's too formal. When you introduce yourself tell them you are taking an independent look at the matter. Take really good notes and then prepare your interview summaries.

Once that is done, assess any new information that you develop as part of the interview process. See where it fits in to the original investigation. Have you resolved disputed or unclear information? Have you locked down inconsistencies or have you created a whole new set.

Cold case work is a process that unfolds on its own time schedule. Sometimes things open up that weren't available before, while other times, witnesses pass away and information is lost. But, most of all be persistent. It's our trademark as investigators.