Today I wanted to share an interview with a local Colorado author and cold case researcher. Silvia Pettem is a Boulder-based author and historical researcher. Beginning in 2003 (after a decades-long career in research and writing), she combined old-fashioned detective work with the power of the Internet while partnering with her local sheriff and with forensic experts of the Vidocq Society to determine the identity of a murder victim from 1954. She chronicled their work in Someone’s Daughter: In Search of Justice for Jane Doe. Now, as a volunteer in the Detectives Section of the Boulder Police Department, as well as a NamUs instructor and an associate member of the Vidocq Society, Pettem has expanded her expertise in her latest book––Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases.
F4F: Behind the Badge was an excellent history of the Boulder (CO) Police Department for the last 125 years. Writers can find it difficult to gain the trust of law enforcement but you seemed to have great access. What was your fondest memory of that project?
SP: What I enjoyed the most was meeting the people and learning how the department worked, literally “behind the badge.”
F4F: In Someone’s Daughter you delved into an unsolved “cold” murder case in Boulder county. In the end, your work led to the identity of the victim previously known as Jane Doe. Tell the readers of F4F a little about the victim and how she died.
SP: Dorothy Gay Howard was only 18, but she had already been married, then divorced, and then remarried when she fled Phoenix AZ in the fall of 1953. She may have hitch-hiked or taken a bus to Denver. Her aunt lived there, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where Harvey Glatman (later executed for murder) trolled for victims to sexually assault. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and I believe that Howard may have been the first victim he killed.
F4F: As a writer, what were some of the challenges you faced when researching this book and how did you overcome them?
SP: Lack of access to the case file and lack of communication with detectives. I finally gave them information (from my research) that they couldn’t ignore.
F4F: Your latest book Cold Case Research really gets at the marrow of cold homicides. What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing law enforcement in cold case investigations?
SP: LE’s greatest challenges are lack of time and lack of money. In Cold Case Research, I explain how to obtain free forensic services through NamUs, get pro bono help through review teams, make the most of search engines and databases, and use of volunteers. I’ve also found that the older investigators aren’t especially internet-savvy, and the younger ones know little about accessing historical newspapers and courthouse records––so I’ve tried to bring in resources from both generations to bridge that gap.
F4F: How do you see the future of cold case homicide investigations? Is there room for a bigger role from civilian resources?
SP: I’m optimistic, especially when agencies recognize the need for cold case units, even if they consist of only one dedicated investigator. As to civilian resources (and I’m one at the Boulder Police Department), I think more agencies need to put them to work in order to free up time for investigators to do their jobs. Of course the volunteers need to be vetted and sign confidentiality statements. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a fresh pair of eyes.
F4F: Can you tell us about any new projects you are working on?
SP: I’m currently busy with speaking engagements––on cold case research––at International Association for Identification conferences around the country.
