There are some 10,000 unsolved homicides in Michigan since 1980.
But many counties lack the money and manpower to devote to cold cases.
That’s why the Prosecutors Association of Michigan is pulling together a new team of investigators, police, and prosecutors – some of them retired – to serve as a cold case advisory board.
“They may see things from a different perspective, and may offer insight or advice that someone who's very, very close to the case, cannot see,” says Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka.
He’s helping to get the advisory board up and running in 2016, and he’s hoping it’ll inspire more counties to tackle cold cases.
“It's very painful for family members, they've lost a family member and can think that nothing's happening, that nothing's being done to bring justice,” says Jarzynka.