HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky — Six students at Northern Kentucky University were chosen to partner with the Boone County Sheriff's Office to participate in a "groundbreaking initiative to solve cold cases," according to a press release from NKU.
Each student was enrolled in JUS 494: Cold Case Investigation, a criminal justice class at the university, and was hand-selected to help the sheriff's office's cold case unit as a part of the course, NKU said.
“The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with a full-time cold case unit,” Sheriff Michael Helmig said. “This collaboration with NKU reaffirms our commitment to each victim’s family that their loved one’s case will not be forgotten.”
Detective Coy Cox said that cold case unit is made up of only two detectives, so they have to prioritize the cases they work on by how likely they are to be solved. He said there are currently 18 cold cases in Boone County.
“Every one of those cases deserves to be looked at, reviewed and given the best effort to solve them," Cox said.
NKU said each student was selected for the following reasons:
- Academic excellence
- Integrity
- Critical thinking skills
- Passion for criminal justice
The chosen students worked with investigators with BCSO to "provide a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective for the BCSO’s cold case unit," NKU said.
They had to go through an application process, interview and extensive background check. Then, the six students chosen had to sign forms agreeing not to discuss the class with anyone and not to record anything.
As a part of the initiative, the students did the following:
- Reviewed homicide cases
- Read the case documents
- Looked over taped interviews
- Presented their recommendations to the cold case unit
According to the press release, students gained real-world experience while helping the sheriff's office solve cold cases.
We talked with three of the students in the class, who the Sheriff's office asked us to keep anonymous for their safety.
“One of the cases that I got to work on, when we were handed it there were three or four boxes of everything," one student said.
From documents to physical evidence and taped interviews, the students went through everything.
“We were able to narrow from almost nothing and not really knowing which direction to take the case just because there was masses of information and it was really hard to tell what was useful and what wasn’t useful, kind of into like a clear five steps that we wanted the detectives to be able to take," one student said.
Cox said the students provided not only a fresh set of eyes on the cases, but newly learned investigation skills.
“That’s fresh in their mind so when they look at something they go, ‘Wow, I don’t know why they didn't do X, Y and Z.’ Well, maybe myself or someone who had it before wasn’t really aware of X, Y and Z," he said.
From an education perspective, it was a chance to apply everything the students have learned in classes.
“This collaboration is an unprecedented opportunity for our students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life situations,” Dr. Melissa Moon, professor of criminal justice at NKU, said. “It also demonstrates NKU’s commitment to community service and fostering the next generation of criminal justice professionals.”
For the students, it was rewarding, but also helped them with their goals for after graduation.
“We have one that got a job right when she graduated that’s actually working as an investigator," Moon said.
Plus, they gained professional connections.
“If I get a phone call for a reference for you from any place, all of you have earned me telling them, ‘You would be remiss if you did not hire this student,'" Cox said.
The students also said they felt like they made a real difference, with the real-world experience, working on the cold cases.
“Every one of them is in a much better place and is closer to being solved than when they were sitting in a corner in a box," Cox said.
NKU said there's already another cold case class scheduled, in the hopes that these students will help solve each cold case in Boone County.
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