Columbia Police sometimes left to squeeze clues from meager evidence in cold cases
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Sometimes, minute pieces of evidence can tell investigators a lot of information and, in some cases, lead to a big break in a cold case.
Columbia Police are investigating 17 unsolved homicide cases with 19 victims dating back to 1985.
Investigators have detailed a number of struggles in their search for justice ranging from inconsistent witness statements, a lack of admissible evidence and in some of the older cases little to no video footage.
However, the evidence investigators do have can help to provide some answers, as in the case of 52-year-old James Hundle. Officers found the 52-year-old dead with a gunshot wound in the 4800 block of Marble Cedars Drive on the morning of Oct. 13, 2021.
Columbia Police Department criminal investigator Lt. Matt Gremore wouldn't say how many times Hundle was shot or if a gun was recovered. However, he said that evidence showed the deadly shot was not self-inflicted.
In the case of 25-year-old Dominick Roland, bullet holes found on the car he was riding in the night he was killed could allow investigators to understand more about the deadly shooting, like the path the bullets traveled.
"Our evidence techs are great," Gremore said. "They've gone to a lot of training to try to figure that out, to see where someone was standing in relation to where a gun shot was fired. They put a lot of work into that, and it really helps you map out what happened."
Roland was found with a gunshot wound in a different car that had crashed near a gas station in the 3800 block of Range Line Street around 2:55 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2019. He was being taken to a hospital by his twin brother, Darius, when the crash happened.
Investigators believe Roland was wounded about 15 minutes prior while riding in the back passenger seat of his friend's car.
Police records obtained by ABC 17 News show "apparent bullet holes, or bullet defects" were later found by police in the front passenger fender, the rear hatchback between the passenger side fender and license plate, and in the rear driver's side bumper.
Witness statements describe the incident as a drive-by shooting.
Investigators found that one of the three bullets traveled through the rear passenger seat, hitting Roland in his lower left side.
Gremore said any physical evidence in a case, like bullet holes, can also help officers validate witness statements.
"You have an idea of where people were when they give a statement, and if they're telling the truth, because you can match that with evidence, it's a phenomenal thing," Gremore said.
Watch "Mid-Missouri's Cold Case Files" Monday on ABC 17 News after the game on KMIZ to hear more about the Roland case.
