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Category: Highlights

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Highlights

Boston Police launch website seeking public assistance to reignite unsolved homicide investigations dating back to 1963

In a bold step to advance justice for victims and families impacted by decades‑old homicides, the Boston Police Department has launched a comprehensive Unsolved Homicide website spotlighting cases dating back to 1963. The initiative represents an innovative, community‑centered strategy to generate new investigative leads and breathe new life into cases that have long remained unresolved. By making case information publicly accessible, the platform leverages transparency and technology to expand the investigative reach beyond traditional methods. The site features concise case summaries, victim photographs when available, and clear, direct pathways for the public to submit tips—empowering community members to play an active role in the pursuit of justice. Several of the cases highlighted on the website are being actively worked with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program, which provides critical resources to help agencies revisit cold cases using modern forensic tools and investigative strategies. By pairing public engagement with DNA‑driven cold case initiatives, the department is strengthening its ability to uncover new evidence and advance stalled investigations. This forward‑looking approach demonstrates how law enforcement agencies can maximize the impact of federal funding by combining technology, transparency, and community trust. Through this initiative, the Boston Police Department is not only revitalizing cold case investigations but also reaffirming its long‑term commitment to accountability, innovation, and bringing long‑awaited resolution to victims’ families and the broader community. To view the Unsolved Homicide website, visit: https://police.boston.gov/homicide-unit/.
October 2025
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District Attorney’s Office of Denver

Investigative genetic genealogy leads to conviction in 2004 Denver kidnapping and sexual assault

More than two decades after a masked intruder broke into a Denver home and kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint, the case has been resolved. On March 30, 2004, the offender entered the victim’s bedroom dressed in black, threatened her with a semi-automatic handgun, restrained and assaulted her, and attempted to remove evidence before fleeing. Despite investigative efforts at the time, the case went cold. In 2022, the Denver Police Department Cold Case Unit and Denver Crime Lab reopened the investigation using investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), which generated an investigative lead. Follow-up investigation confirmed the suspect DNA profile belonged to Jason Groshart. With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program, the Denver District Attorney’s Office led the prosecution effort in coordination with law enforcement partners. In July 2025, Groshart pleaded guilty to one count of Kidnapping and one count of Attempted Sexual Assault. On September 17, 2025, he was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
September 2025
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Sexual Assault Suspect Arrested and Charged in 32-year-old Cold Case

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Sexual Assault Cold Case Detectives have arrested 55-year-old Dulaine Lotharp in connection with two sexual assaults committed in 1993 and 1994, bringing resolution to a 32-year-old cold case. The first assault occurred on July 22, 1993, when a woman reported being attacked by an unknown suspect in the Providence Division. Over a year later, on August 25, 1994, another woman was similarly assaulted while walking along a wooded path in the same division. Sexual assault kits were collected in both cases. Although detectives investigated diligently at the time, the limitations of early DNA technology prevented a suspect from being identified. Years later, detectives revisited the case and submitted the preserved DNA samples for retesting using funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program and the New York County District Attorney’s Office (DANY). This testing ultimately identified Lotharp as the suspect in both assaults. He was taken into custody on August 30, 2025, and charged with three counts of First-Degree Rape, two counts of First-Degree Kidnapping, Common Law Robbery, and Communicating Threats.
September 2025
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Highlights

Timely Case Entry Leads to Rapid Identification in an Arizona Unidentified Human Remains Case

On March 31, 2025, unidentified human remains were discovered near a campsite in Payson, Arizona (Gila County). Despite a thorough investigation, local law enforcement and the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office were initially unable to determine the individual’s identity. 

On May 12, 2025, the Pinal County Medical Examiner entered the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a national database designed to support the identification of missing and unidentified individuals. The entry included detailed descriptions and photographs of the clothing found with the decedent, including a shirt, sweatshirt, and hat. Within 24 hours of the case appearing on NamUs’ public-facing site, concerned citizens began sharing the information on Facebook. By May 14, 2025, tips were coming in to both law enforcement and the medical examiner’s office — including one from friends of a man who had been living unhoused in the area. They recognized the clothing from the NamUs post and contacted authorities, reporting they had lost contact with him nearly three years prior.

The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office obtained dental records for the individual, which were then compared to the postmortem dental records of the unidentified decedent. This comparison confirmed a positive identification, restoring the individual’s name and identity. Next of kin were subsequently located and notified.

While this identification was not directly funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) grant to Pinal County, it powerfully illustrates one of the core objectives of the MUHR Program: the rapid entry of cases into databases like NamUs to aid in identification. This case demonstrates the impact of timely data sharing, the value of public engagement, and the critical role of collaboration and accessible tools in helping bring resolution to families and communities.

August 2025
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Air Force veteran identified from DNA 37 years after his death in Tarrant County

In 1987, the remains of an unidentified man were discovered in Tarrant County, Texas. Despite investigative efforts, the individual could not be identified, and the case remained unresolved for decades. In 2024, as part of a cold case review initiative funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted a biological sample for advanced DNA testing and Forensic Genetic Genealogy. The DNA profile was uploaded to a genealogy database, where it produced matches to potential relatives and generated investigative leads. Outreach efforts and follow-up investigation identified family members, including a relative who reported a missing family member from 1987. Investigators then obtained historical fingerprint records associated with the individual and confirmed a match, establishing the decedent’s identity as Shirlee Lewis Henkel, a U.S. Air Force veteran reported missing from Colorado in 1987. Henkel was officially identified on June 25, 2025, and his family was notified the following day. His cremated remains were later located and returned to his family in April 2026, providing long-awaited resolution nearly four decades after his death.
June 2025
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Highlights

Remains recovered in 2007 identified as diver who went missing in Florida, deputies say

Using funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program awarded to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the work of FDLE’s Genetic Genealogy Investigations team, Volusia Sheriff’s Office detectives were provided a lead in 2025 for an unidentified human remains case that originated in 2007 after a diver went missing while off the coast of Ponce Inlet, Florida. With the help of the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office and funding from the MUHR Program grant, the recovered remains were DNA sequenced and databased, after which FDLE’s Genetic Genealogy Investigations team conducted extensive analytical and genetic genealogy research. Their research resulted in an investigative lead that ultimately led to the positive identification of the victim—providing answers in a case that had remained unresolved for nearly two decades.
June 2025
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Highlights

She was left strangled outside. 46 years later, police found a suspect

More than 45 years ago, Kathryn Donohue, a 31-year-old union secretary, went out for dinner in Georgetown with co-workers after work. Early the next morning, on March 3, 1979, a person found her body in a parking lot in Glenarden, Maryland, miles away from where she lived in Arlington, Virginia. According to charging documents, she had been violently raped and strangled.
March 2025
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Broward County Office of Medical Examiner and Trauma Services, FL

Broward County Office of Medical Examiner and Trauma Services helps address the national shortage of medical examiners through ME/C funding

Since being awarded grant funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner (ME/C) System Program, the Broward County Office of Medical Examiner and Trauma Services (BCOMETS) has successfully trained seven forensic pathology fellows. BCOMETS has one current fellow nearing the completion of their fellowship, with another aspiring forensic pathology fellow set to begin July 1, 2025. Additionally, BCOMETS is concluding interviews for the 2026-2027 academic year, aiming to welcome their ninth forensic pathology fellow that will be funded through their ME/C Program grant.
March 2025
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District One Medical Examiner, FL

Florida’s District One Medical Examiner’s Office set to break ground on new standalone facility, thanks to ME/C funding

Florida’s District One Medical Examiner’s Office utilized funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner (ME/C) System Program to create the conceptual schematic design and layout for a new facility. This new facility will be the first ever standalone medical examiner’s office in their district’s 50-year history. This new facility will not only allow them to better serve the four counties in their district but will also support the requirements for National Association of Medical Examiner (NAME) accreditation. The District One Medical Examiner Director of Operations said “These ME/C Program funds were an integral piece to push the capital construction project forward. We were able to leverage these grant funds, along with state funding, to get the four counties that we serve to agree to provide the remaining funding necessary for the new facility. Without these ME/C Program funds, the project would not have gotten off the ground and we would be much further back in the process. Construction will begin in March 2025 with an anticipated completion of July 2026. The BJA funding through the ME/C Program made a big difference in our pursuit of a new facility that will meet the requirements for NAME accreditation.”
March 2025
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Highlights

Advanced DNA testing brings justice in 1997 Tampa homicide after nearly three decades

Nearly 30 years after a brutal homicide shattered the life of a Tampa family, the case has been solved through persistence, advanced forensic science, and strategic investment in cold case resources. On February 1, 1997, Stephen Edenfield was found stabbed and beaten inside his home, with evidence of a violent struggle. Despite extensive investigative efforts at the time, no suspect was identified, and the case went cold. In 2022, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation, leveraging cutting‑edge DNA analysis supported by Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program funding, as well as partnerships with Othram Labs and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Advanced testing generated a previously unknown DNA profile, which was later linked to an unsolved 2005 sexual assault case in Illinois—creating a critical investigative breakthrough. In February 2025, investigators arrested Brandon Gliha, who was living in Tampa, on an unrelated out‑of‑state warrant. During a subsequent interview with cold case investigators, Gliha confessed to Edenfield’s murder. Following consultation with the State Attorney’s Office, he was charged with first‑degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon. This case demonstrates the transformative power of modern forensic DNA technology when paired with sustained commitment and strategic funding. By reopening long‑dormant cases and applying advanced investigative tools, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office delivered long‑awaited answers and accountability—reinforcing that even decades‑old cases can be solved, and that justice has no expiration date.
February 2025