DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) – There’s renewed hope for hundreds of Iowa communities with unsolved homicide cases or people who went missing under mysterious circumstances.
Iowa’s Attorney General Brenna Bird held a news conference Tuesday to announce the formal creation of a statewide Cold Case Unit.
Flanked by leaders from local law enforcement agencies, and families of the victims, AG Bird says this new unit will provide supplement investigative resources to local agencies in hopes of getting justice for victims and having accountability for killers.
/>The family of 25-year-old Leota Camp, who was murdered in Des Moines in 1967, was there to show their support and said even more than 50 years later, they still hold on to hope her killer will be caught.
“Do you still hold onto hope all these years later that someone will be held accountable?” WHO 13’s Katie Kaplan asked Leota’s mother, Brenda Conklin.
“Somewhat…I kind of, it’s…you know…after so many years you kind of do lose hope that it will ever be solved. But I wish it could be…that would give us the answers,” Conklin replied.
Iowa hasn’t had a statewide unit for years.
Funding was approved by the legislature this past session and will go into effect July 1st for three investigators stationed in different regions across the state and one specialized prosecutor.
The Attorney General’s office is already hiring to fill the positions so they can get to work in the coming weeks.
If you have formal investigative experience and you’re interested in working on the Cold Case Unit, you can apply in the Attorney General’s website.