Wood County Task Force Aims to Solve Cold Cases with Grant Funding

Strategic Insights -

A new task force has been established in Wood County, Ohio, to re-examine unsolved murder cases dating back to 1978. The effort has been awarded $10,000 through the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which will be used to investigate cases using modern DNA technology and other scientific evidence. The task force, comprising police departments from Bowling Green, Lake Township, and Perrysburg Township, aims to submit evidence from homicides to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to identify potential leads.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Wood County task force has been awarded $10,000 to re-examine unsolved murder cases dating back to 1978.
  • The grant will be used to pay investigators overtime to work on the cases, allowing them to focus on cold cases without diverting resources from current caseloads.
  • The task force will submit evidence from a total of 15 unsolved murders, including the 1987 murder of Karen Sue Hirschman, the 1984 slaying of Marcy Ann Miller, and the 1978 murder of Joe Brandon, Jr.
  • Investigators will utilize modern DNA technology and other scientific evidence to identify potential leads and suspects in the cases.
  • The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation will analyze the submitted evidence to identify potential matches in DNA databases.
  • The task force hopes to solve some of the cold cases, including the 1987 murder of Karen Sue Hirschman, which remains the only unsolved murder in Bowling Green's history.
  • The effort is part of a broader initiative by the Ohio Attorney General's Office to support cold case investigations in jurisdictions statewide.

Statistics:

  • $10,000: The amount awarded to the Wood County task force through the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
  • 15: The total number of unsolved murders being re-examined by the task force.
  • 1978: The earliest year a cold case being reviewed by the task force was committed.
  • 1987: The year in which Karen Sue Hirschman was murdered, the only unsolved murder in Bowling Green's history.
  • 4: The number of unsolved murders being reviewed by Lake Township Police, including the 1978 slaying of John Adams and the murders of three prostitutes.

Sources:

  • "Wood County task force examines cold cases." By Jennifer Feehan, Toledo Blade, September 26, 2006.
  • "Ohio Attorney General's Office grant supports cold case investigations." [No specific date or publication mentioned in the text.]