Hundreds of thousands of people have, in fact, gotten away with murder. Based on UCR data, the US currently has 250,000 unsolved murders, a number that increases by about 6,000 each year. With a murder solve rate of about 62%, that means 38% of the time murderers walk away scot-free.

The Crisis of Cold Cases

The murder of Alfred L. Barnes, an employee of Bethlehem Steel, happened on October 18, 1968, in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Someone shot Mr. Barnes three times in the head, dumped him in a desolate pasture and stole his late-model Thunderbird.

Some 42 years later, the crime remained unsolved. Then, in August 2010, the victim’s nephew, Richard Barnes, contacted police and asked them to try again to find who killed his uncle. Investigators faced a tall task trying to solve such a “cold” case—especially since the murder occurred before DNA analysis was widely available.

Then-Pennsylvania State Trooper Tom McAndrew, a detective who at the time had more than 10 years of experience in solving homicides, was part of the cold case team th… Continue Reading (3 minute read)