A collaborative investigation of cold case felonies may bring closure to old murder, rape and assault cases in Memphis and Shelby County.
The plan to coordinate efforts was announced by the Shelby County District Attorney’s office and the Memphis Police Department in September. The Cold Case Unit will bring together law enforcement and prosecutorial tools. The plan includes working on as many as 200 cold cases each year.
“We know that a small percentage of repeat offenders are responsible for a large percentage of the violent crimes,” said DA Steve Mulroy. “If it’s possible for us to resolve some of these cold cases, these are people who almost certainly are out there right now, committing repeat offenses.”
Cases generally become “cold cases” after a year without new leads or evidence surfacing. At that point, many homicide and other cases move to a Cold Case Unit within the MPD’s Homicide Bureau.
The new effort will be made up of three or four detectives and several prosecutors assigned to the unit.
Police Chief C.J. Davis said any effort to justice to waiting families is worthwhile and has her support.
CrimeStoppers supports the effort by putting a spotlight on cases each month in this newsletter and in an independent website. Visit here to read about many cold cases in police files.
Dying man found inside car
crashed into ditch night before
Clues are few in a 2018 drive-by shooting.
Memphis Police officers responded to a report of a traffic crash near the intersection of Aden Street and Willow Wood Avenue in a north Memphis neighborhood December 21, 2018. A citizen drove by and saw a car in a ditch off Willow Wood.
When officers arrived they found the Infinity. They also found a man who had been suffering all night form gunshot wounds. Apparently Jeremy Webster, 29, had been shot the night before and then swerved off the road. He was taken to the hospital but later died.
This is a difficult cold case — one like many — in that detectives were unable to ascertain many details or find witnesses to the shooting.
Anyone with information is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH (2274).
