Law officers are hoping they can solve more of state’s cold cases following this week’s arrest in a three decades old homicide in eastern Iowa.
Iowa DCI Assistant Director Mitch Mortvedt says reviewing cold cases is “very labor intensive” and his agency does not have people dedicated solely to the effort.
“All of our agents out in the field across the state of Iowa, there are 29 or 30 of them, they carry case loads of all the current homicides, kidnappings, sexual assaults, and everything else that we get requested to assist with — and almost everyone of those agents also carry two or three cold cases as part of their case load,” Mortvedt said.
The new cases presented to DCI agents take precedent, according to Mortvedt. “Unfortunately, the cold ones kind of get put on the shelf,” Mortvedt said. “Every time they pick it back up, they have to try and learn it all over again.”
Advances in DNA technology are credited in the arrest of 57-year-old Anthony Burch of Iowa City. He was charged on Thursday in the shooting death of 22-year-old Lance DeWoody in 1985.
Investigators say jealousy was the apparent motive as the victim had reportedly been dating the suspect’s wife.