OKLAHOMA CITY — Federal grants totaling more than $2 million will help create a cold case unit and other initiatives for the Attorney General’s office to help aid in prosecutions.
According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, our state has 3,838 unmatched forensic DNA profiles.
The newly established cold case unit will be used to help other law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and victims of domestic violence.
2 News learned that $500,000 will be specifically used to provide support for the prosecution of cold cases.
The AG’s office said that staff will work to build a comprehensive inventory of all violent crime cold cases in Oklahoma in which a suspect’s DNA profile is already established in the system.
Earlier this year, 2 News featured the cold case of Denise Palmer.
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Oklahoma's Cold Case Files: Denise Palmer
She was only 19 years old when she was found raped and strangled in a bathtub in 1981, after she listed her wedding dress for sale in a newspaper ad.
Eric Cullen’s father, Clay, was the lead investigator for the Tulsa Police Department on the Palmer case and said he is encouraged because there is DNA that needs to be re-examined in this case.
“As it turns out, this man was not there to buy the wedding dress and ended up raping and murdering her. There was gum found in the bathtub and the semen specimen was I believe discarded through mold over time,” said Cullen.
Investigators said there was also blood discovered on the walls around the bathtub that they believe belongs to the suspect.
But despite the DNA in this case, it remains unsolved.
Denise’s mother, Pat Carlile, is hopeful that DNA will finally reveal some answers about her daughter’s killer, but until it does, she remains steadfast in her faith in God.
“He gave her to me for 19 years, and I was so blessed. Those 19 years, what a gift,” said Carlile.
The Attorney General’s Office said the victim services unit will be able to use some of the grant money to boost the implementation of the Oklahoma Lethality Assessment Protocol, or LAP.
The unit will be able to increase the services provided to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Law enforcement agencies will also be added to a new digital database to make it easier for victims to find service providers more easily.
