
Erica Techo
Cold case
Shelby County Sheriff's Office cold-case investigators (left-right) Roger Beaupre, Larry Strayer, Jim Dormuth, Ray White and Larry Rooker at a press conference on July 29, 2015.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office recently deputized two investigators for its cold case unit. They join a team of six retired investigators who volunteer their time to reopen cases.
“Law enforcement is definitely something that’s part of your blood,” said Roger Beaupre, one of the investigators. “It’s woven into your DNA in order to apply your skills and your trades in order to help your community. There’s families here that need closure.”
The cold case unit was formed seven years ago, and the team reopens cases from as far back as 1961. There are about 12 cases in the unit’s workload, and around five have been resolved in some way. The resolution of these cases can mean an arrest has been made or the suspects are deceased. Other times, the case goes cold again and they wait for more new information to come up.
“Since we don’t have an active caseload like CID – criminal investigation – does, we have the luxury of digging back into the cases and maybe re-interviewing people, finding additional people we want to talk to and those types of things,” said investigator Jim Dormuth.
The unit was able to resolve a double homicide from 1961 after 18 months of investigation and interviews. The suspects were dead, but Dormuth said they were able to provide an idea of what happened to the descendants of the victims.
“We developed enough information that we could bring some closure to the family,” he said. “From our perspective, it’s very satisfying when you’re able to talk to the victim’s family or descendants and give them idea of what we found and what we believe happened, and they’re very grateful for the effort.”
Cases go cold after leads and information run dry in an investigation, Dormuth said, but reopening cases yields certain advantages such as talking with anyone who formerly remained quiet and analyzing old evidence with new technology.
“The two primary things that help us in any cold case are technology and time,” Dormuth said. “With the advent of DNA as it increases in its ability, what before was evidence that didn’t mean anything may now be viable evidence that we can resubmit for analysis.”
One case the unit has investigated since its inception is the murder of Willie “Bo” Bedford. Bedford was killed just outside of Columbiana city limits in 2001, and there have been more than 100 interviews and several polygraph tests done since the case was reopened.
There may be community members with direct and second-hand knowledge about the murder, Dormuth said, and he asked that anyone with information contact the Sheriff’s Office.
“The Bedford case is on the top of our list because we feel as though we have some good information, but we need some help from the community on that one,” Dormuth said.
Shelby County Sheriff's Office cold case investigators
Shelby County Sheriff's Office cold case investigators held a press conference on July 29, 2015. Reserve deputy Jim Dormuth discussed one of the unit's cold cases, the 2001 murder of Willie "Bo" Bedford, and how community members can help bring the case to a close.
In addition to new leads with time, Dormuth said diversity in experience on the unit helps with investigations. The deputies have worked on state and federal levels and have experience with multiple agencies.
“The experience with the group we have is so varied and so in depth that as we look at a case, there will be many different perspectives on it,” Dormuth said. “Based upon the experience of everybody here, topics will be raised, ideas will be raised, and individuals can say ‘That worked before, that didn’t work before,’ and it helps us develop an investigative plan.”