Expanding Cold Case Prosecutions and Beyond in Suffolk County

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the county’s chief prosecutorial office will utilize this funding for its recently established task force, which is the first of its kind in Suffolk County and which was established in April 2024. The task force will be dedicated to investigating and prosecuting violent crime cold cases where DNA from a suspect has been identified. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has had significant, recent success in its investigation and prosecution of cold cases. A recent preliminary inventory of unsolved cases revealed 293 unsolved homicides in Suffolk County from 1965-2020, which does not account for the county’s unsolved sexual assaults, burglaries, etc. A dedicated task force, utilizing both traditional investigative and modern DNA techniques, is a major step forward in being able to provide answers to affected families and ultimately, apprehend perpetrators of these crimes. However, even dedicated teams are limited in their abilities without an influx of dedicated resources. The overall goals of the project are to focus on unsolved violent cold cases with suspect DNA profiles already identified; enhance the effective and efficient use of investigative activities and forensic analyses that could lead to prosecuting more violent cold cases; reduce the significant backlog of unsolved violent crimes; and bring long-awaited justice to victims and their families.