To: All Members, WAHI

From: Steve Daniels, Chair

          Cold Case Review Team (CCRT)

Re: Numerous Wisconsin Cold Cases

Friends, the members of the CCRT are getting very restless, and some are even going through “case withdrawals”.  When the original article was published in the association newsletter, investigators from numerous agencies called, wrote, or e-mailed stating that they thought the team would be a great service, and would be utilized for many unsolved cases.

Although there is movement on the cases the team was involved with, we have had a dry spell, void of referrals.  The referral process is simple and unburdened for investigators. (See the process on the website). If you have hit a wall with one (or more) of your open, unsolved cases we are simply another resource for you, at virtually no cost to you or your agency.

As I mentioned in a prior correspondence, the trainers from the Henry Lee Institute, who presented at the Eau Claire conference, stated that the association’s CCRT was great idea, and a useful and necessary service for WAHI and its members.

In closing, please allow me to extend an invitation to all members with a cold case on their docket to make contact with us and set up a review session. I’m certain you will find it a great help.

By Steve Daniels, Chair of the Cold Case Team

Early in February, I offered a very brief presentation regarding the cold case team to the Wisconsin Sheriff’s and Deputy Sheriff’s annual conference. In discussion with some of the attendees prior to the presentation, I learned that many agencies are still unaware that this service provided to members free-of-charge. So, I am assuming it is a lack of awareness, rather than a refusal to use the service-for any of a number of reasons- that our referrals have hit a slump.

When this service was originally proposed, in an earlier newsletter, the response was overwhelmingly positive with a large number of members indicating they would either be willing to serve on the team or to refer cases for review. We have no shortage of members who have volunteered to offer their services at no cost, however the referrals have not met the expectations that were generated by that early article.

In response to the overwhelming response, the board of directors, officers, and chairs voted to offer a free cold case review team to members and their agencies, and voted to implement a budget for the team to use as needed. The budget is sitting virtually untouched due to lack of referrals. I have never been one to spend someone else’s money foolishly, however, the team and the money are waiting to be used.

Some member agencies have had reviews completed on open murder cases, and there is movement on those cases. The team, in an effort to obtain referrals, made the process as simple as could be, you can find the steps to refer a cold case to the team for review in that section of the WAHI newsletter (see below of this article for the procedure). As I mentioned, I truly hope the lack of referrals is due to lack of awareness, and not because the process has been deemed too cumbersome.

In closing, I must say that it usually takes a period of time for any new program to catch on. Remember, the presenters at the Eau Claire conference on cold cases opined that this is a fantastic service made available to members. Hopefully, you will take advantage of it.

In order to have a confidential case reviewed by the team, the following criteria must be in place:

1.      Only the agency in control of the case can request a review, not family members, victim-witness advocates, etc.

2.        The case must be at least three years old.

3.        All evidence has been processed and reports have been received.

4.      The complete file, including still photographs, as well as videos must travel with the requesting investigator.

        If you have a case (or cases) that meet the above four criteria, the simple referral for review process is as follows:

·         A request for review should be sent on agency letter head to:

·         Steve Daniels

Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators

P O Box 11342

       Green Bay, WI 54307-1342

·         A review will be set for either the morning (9:00) or afternoon (1:00) of one of the following dates:

       The fourth Wednesday of January, May, August, October of each succeeding year.

·         The requesting agency will send two investigators to the scheduled review

·         Prior to the review, a chronological history of the case to date will be sent to the above address, or to this e-mail address

·         On the day of the review, the agency must have ready a 40-60 minute power point presentation of the case, to include crime scene photos, autopsy photos, victim information and particulars of the case

·         Team members will offer feedback to the investigators during and after their presentation. If requested, a written report will be afforded to the agency in approximately 14 days from the review.

All confidential reviews will be hosted at:

                Concordia University/Green Bay Center

                1150 Springhurst Dr.

                Green Bay, WI

                (920) 498-2551

If presenting investigators need to stay over night, the Ramada is about 3 blocks from the review site.