cold case

[ kohld keys ]

noun

1. a criminal investigation that has remained unsolved for an extended period of time:

   This year's award recipient is a state trooper whose work helped close a cold case from 1983.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cold case¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

When the Riverside County district attorney’s office put the DNA from Gonzalez’s cold case into a database, they found a woman who was a potential relative of the unidentified killer.

From Los Angeles Times

Dutch cold case detectives are using the innovative technology for the first time in an effort to solve the case.

From BBC

Until now, Betty's killer has eluded justice and cold case detective Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk is determined to change that: “A young woman, only 19, taken from life in such a horrific way.”

From BBC

Then in 2023, the county’s cold case unit was able to link old evidence to Alexander with the help of a new DNA database used by homicide detectives across the nation.

From Los Angeles Times

Investigators from the Ventura County Cold Case Unit have arrested a suspected serial killer from Mississippi in connection to three unresolved murders in California from 1977.

From Los Angeles Times