Queens District Attorney's Office Launches Cold Case Unit

QUEENS, NY — Queens prosecutors have started reinvestigating 35 unsolved murders as part of a new unit within the district attorney's office dedicated to cold cases.

Formed by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in March, the cold case unit will work with the NYPD's cold case squad to track down new leads in the 2,200-some murder cases in Queens that remain unsolved.

"Not knowing who committed the crime and having justice elude them for years and in some instances decades is an additional heartache," Katz said in a statement Tuesday announcing the new unit. "The goal is to find the killers and give the families of the victims the long-awaited justice they deserve."

Investigators in the cold case unit will make use of advancements in forensic technology to identify suspects and test evidence.

Karen L. Ross, a prosecutor who has been with the Queens District Attorney's Office since 1998, is leading the new unit.