Editing Cold case (section)

==Characteristics==
===Violent or major crime===

Typically, cold cases are [[Violent crime|violent]] and other major [[felony]] crimes, such as [[murder]] and [[rape]], which—unlike unsolved minor crimes—are generally not subject to a [[statute of limitations]]. Sometimes disappearances can also be considered cold cases if the victim has not been seen or heard from for some time, such as the case of [[Natalee Holloway]] or the [[Beaumont Children|Beaumont children]].

The rate of cold cases being solved are slowly declining, soon less than 30% will be solved per year. About 35% of those cases are not cold cases at all. Some cases become instantly cold when a seemingly closed (solved) case is re-opened due to the discovery of new evidence pointing away from the original suspect(s). Other cases are cold when the crime is discovered well after the fact—for example, by the discovery of human remains.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/03/07/48hours/main168984.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020615032235/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/03/07/48hours/main168984.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2002 |title=Missing for 30 Years/The Clue in the Drum – A Plastic Flower Stem Leads to a Killer |publisher=Cbsnews.com |date=2009-02-11 |access-date=2012-02-12}}</ref> Some cases become classified cold cases when a case that had been originally ruled an accident or suicide is re-designated as murder when new evidence emerges.

The [[John Christie (murderer)|John Christie]] murders is a notable case when [[Timothy Evans]] was wrongly executed for the alleged murders of his wife and child. Many other bodies were later found in the house where they lived with Christie, and he was then executed for the crimes. The case helped a campaign against [[capital punishment]] in Britain.

===Identifying a suspect===
A case is considered unsolved until a [[suspect]] has been identified, [[indictment|charged]], and [[jury trial|tried]] for the crime.  A case that goes to trial and does not result in a [[conviction (law)|conviction]] can also be kept on the books pending new [[evidence]]. In some cases, a suspect, often called a "person of interest" or "subject" is identified early on but no evidence definitively linking the subject to the crime is found at that time and more often than not the subject is not forthcoming with a confession. This often happens in cases where the subject has an [[alibi]], alibi witnesses, or lack of forensic evidence. Eventually, the alibi is disproved, the witnesses recanted their statements or advances in forensics helped bring the subjects to justice. Sometimes a case is not solved but forensic evidence helps to determine that the crimes are [[serial crime]]s. The [[Dennis Rader|BTK]] case and [[Original Night Stalker]] cases are such examples.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/25/us/golden-state-killer-development/index.html|title=After searching for more than 40 years, authorities say an ex-cop is the Golden State Killer|date=April 25, 2018|website=CNN}}</ref> The [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] have established a website<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dps.texas.gov/TexasRangers/UnsolvedHomicides/topCases.aspx |title=Texas Rangers Unsolved Homicides |publisher=Dps.texas.gov |access-date=2013-07-21 |archive-date=2019-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627040526/http://www.dps.texas.gov/TexasRangers/UnsolvedHomicides/topCases.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the hopes that it shall elicit new information and investigative leads.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caller.com/news/2013/feb/27/new-texas-rangers-web-page-hopes-to-breathe-new/ |title=New Texas Rangers Web page hopes to breathe new life into cold cases |work=Corpus Christi Caller-Times |access-date=2013-07-21}}</ref>

===Tunnel vision===
Sometimes, a viable suspect has been overlooked or simply ignored due to then-flimsy circumstantial evidence, the presence of a likelier suspect (who is later proven to be innocent), or a tendency of investigators to zero in on someone else to the exclusion of other possibilities (which goes back to the likelier suspect angle)—known as "[[Tunnel vision (metaphor)|tunnel vision]]".
===Improvements in forensics===
With the advent of and improvements to [[DNA testing]]/[[DNA profiling]] and other [[forensics]] technology, many cold cases are being re-opened and [[Prosecute|prosecuted]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levenson |first=Eric |date=2019-03-17 |title=It started as a hobby. Now they're using DNA to help cops crack cold cases |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/health/dna-genealogy-cold-cases-trnd/index.html |access-date=2019-04-10 |website=CNN}}</ref> [[Police]] departments are opening cold case units whose job is to re-examine cold case files. DNA evidence helps in such cases but as in the case of fingerprints, it is of no value unless there is evidence on file to compare it to. However, to combat that issue, the FBI is switching from using the [[Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System|Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)]] to using a newer technology called the [[Next Generation Identification|Next Generation Identification (NGI)]]. Other improvements in forensics lie in fields such as:

* [[Digital forensics|Digital Forensics]] one application of which is to recover hidden or deleted data.
* [[Ballistics]] Analysis which involves the evaluation of ammunition and firearms to determine which weapon might have been used in a crime.
* [[Forensic anthropology|Forensic Anthropology]] which analyzes skeletal remains to determine their cause of death or any other relevant information.
* [[Mobile device forensics|Mobile Forensics]] and [[Social media|Social Media]] which, since their creation, have had increased involvement in any police case cold or not.
* [[Forensic psychology|Forensic Psychology]] which can be used to analyze crime scenes and identify suspect profiles.
* [[Facial recognition system|Facial Recognition]] which has been used to identify suspects based on their facial features.
* [[Artificial intelligence|Artificial Intelligence (AI)]] which is used in all of the above systems to help analyze data and information from crime scenes.