There are now 9,082 unsolved murders in New York City going back to 1985. That figure is a moving target of course. They are adding to that number all the time. Roughly 150 – 200 or more murders go cold every year, and try as they might, they are not going back and solving that many each year (of the older, cold cases).
That picture was take at one of the Property Clerk warehouses. Those barrels contain homicide evidence.
Attention! If you have a friend or loved one whose murder is still unsolved and you want to know what to do, please read this:
People ask repeatedly in the comments section about what to do or who to call about an unsolved murder. The answer to those questions are on the left under the heading, Getting Help – Contacting a Cold Case Squad. First read the document titled Before You Contact a Cold Case Squad. Then look up the number in the document Cold Case Squad and Other Organizations.
If you can’t find a number for your city or town, call your local police department and ask them if they have a cold case squad or a person in their homicide squad who specializes in cold cases. If they don’t then ask to speak to someone in their homicide squad. If you don’t get what you believe is a decent response, then go to the document on the left titled, Escalating Your Case.
If you have specific questions after reading through these instructions please ask here, but come back to see the answer!
783 responses so far ↓
1 Jackie Tirado // May 17, 2020 at 2:21 am
I would like some information regarding the murder of my father back in 1985. Please contact me for further details. Thank you.
2 Stacy Horn // May 17, 2020 at 9:32 am
Jackie, I’m so sorry about the loss of your father. I would suggest reading these suggestions I put together, the link is below, and then going on to the list of Cold Case Squads in the country. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
https://www.therestlesssleep.com/?page_id=366
3 Veronica N // Jul 29, 2020 at 7:18 pm
Hi my name is Veronica and I also worked and was friend with Paula Pannella who was murdered back in 1992. I saw that Jessica was looking into it and was wondering if she ever received information regarding Paula case. There is not a day that goes by that i dont think of her. She was an amazing person and treated everyone with so much kindness. I also believed that it was her ex that killed her but would really like to know if her case was ever solved.
4 Jessica // Jul 30, 2020 at 3:14 am
Veronica, if you worked with her at C&A you May remember me. I have some photos the cold case detective let me see that had some coworkers from
C&A in them. Seeing your name made a click for me. I wonder if one of those pictures was you.
Email me? Justifiedmadness@icloud.com. I do have contact with the cold case detective and he was able to track her files down. It isn’t solved and I don’t remember mikes last name. I met him a few times and all I really remember was an air of impatience and shifty eyes. Not much eye contact.
I imagine this time of year brings her to mind for you as well. I’m Jess. I lived next door to C&A and was always in there as a kid being sent to the store. I worked with Paula summer of 92 there… but have known her… wow… since I was little.
5 Jessica Mazzella // Jul 30, 2020 at 3:46 am
Veronica, please contact me regarding Paula Pannella. Justifiedmadness@icloud.com
6 karl Nemeth // Aug 18, 2020 at 11:15 am
My grandma was taken away from her 3 children in the winter of 1976, no body was found but i think i may have found her in delaware. wish me luck, i feel so heartbroken reading these comments my heart goes out to all of you.
7 Stacy Horn // Aug 18, 2020 at 11:17 am
I hope you find her, Karl.
8 Juan Lucero // Sep 10, 2020 at 6:58 pm
My uncle had the same name as me. He was murdered in September 1990 along with 3 others on 427 Central Avenue Brooklyn. All 4 victims were shot execution style. 2 of them died on impact. The other two including my uncle were transported to the hospital but died a few hours later. My family never have had closure cause their killers were only described and have never been caught.
9 Stacy Horn // Sep 10, 2020 at 7:11 pm
Juan, I’m sorry about your uncle. I’m going to email you.
10 Raleem Moses // Oct 14, 2020 at 1:14 pm
My mother was killed in her apartment on Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn on October 15, 1991. I have had no closure.
11 Stacy Horn // Oct 14, 2020 at 1:59 pm
Raleem, I’m so sorry about your mother. I need a little more information to look into this. What was her name? Can you tell me where on Cortelyou Road this happened? It’s a long street and I need to figure out which precinct has the case.
12 Maritza Sime // Oct 14, 2020 at 9:25 pm
Hi my brother was murdered shot execution on May 22, 1992. Body found in Pelham Bay Park, unsolved murder to date. I have a case# can someone pleaseeeeeee tell me who or where is this case? No closure for our family especially when this is lost in the system also….double whammy for us.
13 Stacy Horn // Oct 15, 2020 at 10:12 am
Maria, I’m so sorry about your brother. I’m going to email you.
14 Timo // Jan 8, 2021 at 3:28 am
I lost my cousin a long time ago. I love him a whole lot. He was my favorite cousin, his name is William David. He was a Guyanese. He was shot in the head. I never got to know why he was shot and who did it. That murder destroyed my aunt’s whole family. All of his brothers struggled with coming to terms with his did and they all became suicidal and die within the same year. He was married to Nicole David and they had two children. My cousin really loved me, I was a child when he left Guyana. I had no idea that I would’ve been hugging my cousin for the last time. The next time I saw him, he was in a casket. I still remember how he looked like a dead man. His death haunted me for years as a child. He was our most important and favorite cousin.
15 Stacy Horn // Jan 8, 2021 at 4:51 pm
Timo, I am so sorry for the loss of your cousin. Where did this happen, exactly, and when?
16 Andrew glasgow // Jan 18, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Hi my name is Andrew my mom Himna Patterson/nee GLasgow was murder later December 1991 ,she was strangle n the murder remain unsolved.
17 Stacy Horn // Jan 18, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Andrew, I’m so sorry about your mother. Where was she killed exactly?
18 Thomas Hatfield // Jan 24, 2021 at 8:49 pm
Hi my name is Thomas Hatfield, i loss my mother Jane Fields on November 05 1996 i remember talking to detective Killian and i was told by him that she was found on a gard rail somewhere in Manhattan. I still not sure what was the cause of her death. I haven’t stayed on the case concerning the loss of my mother. She would’ve been 77 years old had she been alive today. Three, years ago i loss my sister to a drug overdose who was my deceased mother’s first daughter. I feel more comforted that they’re now in a better place.
19 Stacy Horn // Jan 25, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Hello again, Thomas. I remember I put you in touch with a detective from the NYPD’s Cold Case Squad, who was able to give you information about your mother’s death (and I’m very sorry for your loss). I remember it was not a homicide. If you’d like more information about her cause of death you can request a copy of her death certificate, which you can do online at the link below. It will list the cause of death. I’m so sorry to hear that you have also lost your sister as well.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/death-certificates.page
20 Elizabeth Esquivel // Mar 24, 2021 at 9:22 pm
I’m looking for my Mother remains, I pretty sure her murder is cold case , her name was Arlene Redondo but at the time of death she was using and alias.. she was dismemberment and torture till death. Around 1986 or 1987. She was found in her apartment in the bronx
21 Stacy Horn // Mar 28, 2021 at 7:44 pm
Elizabeth, I’m so sorry about your mother. I’m going to email you.
22 Ruben Sanders // Apr 8, 2021 at 11:07 pm
My brother was kill by Contract Killers that the fbi was following but they never charge them with his killing im looking into a wrongful death suit they knew of the active contract and let it be tooken out they could have closed the case sooner my brother would have still been alive
23 Stacy Horn // Apr 9, 2021 at 9:08 am
That is so terrible, I’m sorry. Where did this happen? And when? What was your brother’s name?
24 Janet Feliz // Apr 25, 2021 at 10:01 am
My mother Iris Rivera was assaulted with a blunt object in St. James Park in Bronx, New York . Assaulted on April 21,1993 or so. She was found by a postal worker who was walking through the park . I believe her exact date of death was April 25, 1993 . She died in Jacobi Medical Center . It’s a Case . I was 9 years old the time it happened .
25 Stacy Horn // Apr 26, 2021 at 6:46 pm
Hello Janet. I’m so sorry about your mother. I will email you.
26 Joanne Lupo // Sep 7, 2021 at 12:47 am
Hi: I.m interested to know if any evidence was found in the murder of my friend John Rampolla. He was shot in the head, any found in a box behind a restaurant in the Bronx NY. It happened either in 1993,or 1994 I’m not so sure, I would appreciate any information you might have on this crime, Thank you, Joanne Lupo
27 Stacy Horn // Sep 7, 2021 at 11:51 am
Joanne, I’m so sorry about the loss of your friend. I can tell you that his murder was never solved, sadly. Since it is an open case, specific details would only be shared with members of the family. Are you in touch with his family?
28 Sodo // Mar 16, 2022 at 2:18 pm
Hello I’m trying to find out who my father was I was told he was murdered In 1985 at the age of 18 in far rockaway in the 40 buildings In the staircase he was supposedly found
29 Stacy Horn // Mar 16, 2022 at 3:12 pm
It looks like your post got cut off. What else where you going to say?
30 JP // Aug 5, 2022 at 7:26 pm
I have always been fascinated with the unsolved murder of an elementary school friend Michael Kostalas who lived at E 41St in Brooklyn, near Troy Ave. His parents shut down, refused to discuss what happened, and moved shortly after he was murdered, he was found in his car off the side of the belt parkway, not sure of the location but the date was April 16, 1995… There seems to be nothing written about his death. His family used to run a popular diner Minerva which was open in the late 80s thru around the time of his death on Kings Highway in Brooklyn. The family lived on the same block of the infamous mafia hangout Gemini Lounge, famous for the murders which took place there. We were always told to not go near the place when we were children. IS there any possible information on his death, anywhere? I always wondered if there is a connection between the Gemini lounge and the murder
31 Stacy Horn // Aug 11, 2022 at 11:26 am
JP, I’m sorry about the loss of your friend. He does not show up on the list of unsolved homicides in Brooklyn in 1995, so at the very least, an arrest was made in connection with his death. That’s all I can tell you, I’m afraid. You could try reaching out to one of the precincts Kings Highway runs through (62, 63, 69). Because you are not a member of the family, and the case is almost 30 years old, you may not get much information from anyone you reach, but if you do decide to pursue it, ask to be transferred to the detective’s squad when you call the precinct. Good luck!
32 Karen // Sep 14, 2023 at 3:08 am
Michelle Colucci September 14,1997 murdered Middle Village Queens. She was only 20. There are a few newspaper articles about it. It is still unsolved. I had Cold Case detectives at my house about 15 years ago. Nothing since.
33 Stacy Horn // Sep 18, 2023 at 10:19 am
Hi Karen. I’m so sorry about your friend. Do you remember the name of the detective who came to see you by any chance? The squad has shrunk to a handful of detectives since the time I wrote about them. It certainly wouldn’t hurt for you to reach out to them to see where it was left with the last detective. They recently moved their offices so if this number doesn’t work let me know and I will get the current number for you: 718-834-2777.
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