Columbia police investigating over a dozen cold case homicides dating back to 1985
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Police Department is investigating more than a dozen cold case homicides dating back to 1985.
"When you have such a terrible thing happen and you don't have an answer for it, that really hurts the family and obviously the investigation," CPD Lt. Matt Gremore said.
Gremore said that 16 cold cases involve 18 victims. Wednesday marks eight years since Columbia police responded to I-70 Drive Northwest and Garden Drive and found three men shot in a white 2007 Audi SUV riddled with bullets.
Jeffery D. Jones, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene while 32-year-old Michael J. Walker Jr. was pronounced dead at an area hospital. A third man suffered serious injuries, but survived. No one has been charged for the murders.
Gremore oversees criminal investigations with the Columbia Police Department including violent assaults, rapes and homicides.
Gremore said some helpful tips have come in throughout the years.
"If someone calls in a tip where they're wanting to talk to a detective and give that information, obviously we're open ears," Gremore said. "We would sit down and talk to that individual."
He said Crimestoppers is a great resource for people who may not want to tie their name to a tip because it's anonymous.
Gremore said the most-important part of keeping cold cases alive is keeping in contact with the family of a victim.
"That's something that I'm trying to get better at throughout the years of realizing the importance that it is to communicate with the family, so that they know we don't just put it in a desk file and we're done with it," Gremore said. "For them to know that we're still looking into it, even years later, I think that's a big step in the right direction for sure."
He said he wants to get answers for families to explain what happened to their loved ones.
The deadly double homicide on March 26, 2017, of Walker Jr. and Jones are just two-of-16 unsolved homicides police continue to investigate years after the murders took place.
Gremore said CPD keeps investigating its cold cases with advancements in technology, DNA and fingerprint analysis. But old-fashioned police work comes into play, too.
"A good portion of it comes down to talking to the community, working together to get those answers," Gremore said. "Sometimes in investigations, that's what it takes to make that breakthrough happen."
Watch the premiere of Mid-Missouri Cold Case Files featuring the Michael J. Walker Jr. and Jeffery D. Jones case at 10 p.m. Wednesday on ABC 17 News.
