I was just posting about the holidays on my personal blog, and it reminded me that 59 of the murders that went cold in New York (since 1985) happened on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and 18 on New Year’s Eve.

Happy holidays.

Based on the number of homicides in America, I estimate that 6,000 murder cases are going cold every year.

(My computer is in the shop, by the way. That’s why I am posting less, and will be posting less for the next week. Hopefully it will only be a week.)

This is Bill Miller, the last person to see Jean Sanseverino alive in 1951. (I wrote about Jean in the book.) For the longest time I didn’t know who this was. The picture was in the case files without a caption or explanation. Then, a year into my research I read a witness statement that described Bill Miller as missing three teeth and part of his thumb.

The 1951 detectives narrowed their search down to four persons of interest (these are people detectives are not ready to call suspects). Bill Miller was one of their favorites.

I’m going to institute a policy.

If you want to trash someone you’re going to have to display some courage. Taking anonymous cheap shots will not be not allowed. Someone calling himself Dick Long recently posted vague, disparaging comments about a cold case detective without facts or explanation. Dick Long, perhaps. No balls — definitely.

To post here, you’re going to have to be a man (or a woman) and use your real name.

That said, please don’t come here to post that kind of thing. I already know that the perfect detective without faults, like the perfect person, doesn’t exist. If you’re a better detective, a better person, let’s see it. Help us. This blog is here to help law enforcement and the family and friends of someone who was murdered and whose case went cold. Let’s see what you’ve got. Help someone here.