Now that the 126th Legislature has finished its work, I want to highlight one of our biggest successes of the session. At a time when bipartisan agreement can seem out of reach, a bill to create a cold case homicide unit within the Attorney General’s office passed unanimously through the House and Senate, and was signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage. Attorney General Janet Mills is working with Congressman Mike Michaud to apply for a federal grant to fund this new unit.
Maine has more than 100 unsolved homicide cases, dating back to 1953. One hundred murder victims means 100 communities torn apart and 100 grieving families who have waited far too long for answers. And of course, it means 100 killers who have so far escaped punishment. The families and friends of cold case victims deserve justice.
One of those unsolved murder victims was Saco teenager Ashley Ouellette. Fifteen years ago, Ashley was found dead in Scarborough. Police reported that she was strangled, but her murder has never been solved. Fifteen years later, her family, friends and our community are still waiting for answers.
In February, the Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the creation of the new cold case unit. As the Senate chair of the committee, I heard from parents of murder victims, social workers, Deputy Attorney General William Stokes and Maj. Chris Grotten of the Maine State Police. The message was clear: If we want to be able to solve these crimes and bring the killers to justice, we need more investigators who can focus their skills solely on solving these crimes.
When a murder occurs, investigators must mobilize all available resources to solve the case as quickly as possible. They know that the longer it takes to solve a murder, the slimmer the chances of bringing the murderer to justice. That’s why more recent crimes have to take priority when resources are stretched.
Creating a dedicated cold case unit will bring new resources to many of these investigations and offer hope to the families that are still waiting for justice. Even when a homicide case has gone unsolved for years, there can be new opportunities to find important clues. Unfortunately, without a dedicated cold case unit, the limited resources of existing investigators means that some paths may go unexplored.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice is accepting applications for grants to create cold case units in states around the country. Maine’s Attorney General Janet Mills is working with our congressional delegation to bring these federal funds to Maine. If they are successful, the state could receive $300,000 to fund this new cold case unit.
The new law will go into effect in August. Ashley Ouellette’s family and friends, and the families and friends of Maine’s other cold case homicide victims, deserve to know what happened to their loved ones. Creating this new unit of investigators will bring us one step closer to the answers they seek and the justice their loved ones deserve. I am proud of standing up for this bill and ensuring that the search will continue.
— Sen. Linda Valentino is a Democrat who represents the communities of Senate District 5: Buxton, Dayton, Old Orchard Beach, Saco and part of Biddeford. Her column appears on the second Monday of each month.
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