King County Prosecuting Attorney Cold Case Prosecutions

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) will utilize funding to implement the KCPAO Cold Case Prosecutor Program. The purpose of the program is the designation of a dedicated prosecutor with experience prosecuting cold case homicides to work exclusively on unsolved homicide cases, with an overarching goal of reducing unresolved homicides where a suspect DNA profile has been developed and the case is awaiting further investigation and/or prosecution. Project activities include creating an inventory of all unsolved homicide cases in King County and identifying the unsolved homicide cases where a suspect DNA profile has already been developed. Once those cases are identified, the cases will be carefully reviewed to compile demographic and other data; determine additional investigative steps; and determine if the case is suitable for filing. The KCPAO Cold Case Prosecutor will file homicide charges, when appropriate, and that case will be prosecuted by the KCPAO homicide unit prosecutors. Expected outcomes of this program include increasing the number of prosecutions of unsolved homicides as well as solving cases that can’t be prosecuted due to evidentiary and non-evidentiary reasons, with both outcomes providing answers to grieving families.