The Coconino County Attorney鈥檚 Office announced the formation of a new Cold Case Unit on Monday. The unit will be staffed by prosecutor Jonathan Mosher, paralegal Maisie El-Ters and paralegal assistant Vanessa Arcuri, who will work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies across the county to review and prosecute unsolved criminal cases.
In a press release, County Attorney Ammon Barker said, 鈥淲e are determined to ensure that every case, regardless of how long ago it happened, deserves justice. Our Cold Case Unit reflects our unwavering commitment to work as a team with partners at the Coconino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, the Flagstaff Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies to solve cases and bring violent criminals to justice.鈥�
This is not the first Cold Case Unit established in Coconino County: the county sheriff鈥檚 office has operated its own unit聽since 2008, primarily staffed by retired law enforcement officers volunteering their time.
In an interview, Barker said the formation of the new unit in his office would bring increased collaboration to those efforts and ensure there鈥檚 adequate staffing for the work required.
鈥淭hose cases were being reviewed and investigated by these volunteers, but our office wasn鈥檛 really involved in the conversation,鈥� Barker said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do now is have our prosecutor involved in the conversation much earlier.鈥� The process of reviewing the entirety of an old case, he noted, 鈥渢akes so much more time than you鈥檇 think.鈥�
The attorney鈥檚 office will not be independently investigating cases, Barker said -- though he hopes to secure additional funding in the future, either locally or through federal sources, to hire a full-time investigator dedicated to cold cases.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just the nature of police work that the thing that comes in the door today is going to take priority over the case that happened 10 years ago,鈥� Barker said. 鈥淯nless you have some kind of dedicated personnel 鈥� it becomes harder and harder to keep those fresh, and keep those cases moving.鈥�
For the moment, the Cold Case Unit at the attorney鈥檚 office will rely on law enforcement personnel to bring forward cases that are potential candidates for new criminal charges. Barker praised the Coconino County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and Flagstaff Police Department for the energy they鈥檝e already put into reevaluating old investigations.
That commitment, he said, 鈥減rompted us to meet the need that we鈥檙e seeing right now.鈥�
In 2016, the unit with the sheriff's office successfully identified the remains of Brian Nez, a 19-year-old Native American man who was struck and killed by a car outside Winslow in 1994. Five years later, the unit was able to identify Carolyn Eaton, long known as 鈥淰alentine Sally,鈥� after her body was discovered off of Interstate 40 on Valentine鈥檚 Day in 1982. Investigators said they believe her death may have been a homicide, but no perpetrator has been identified to date.
And in 2023, DNA analysis led to the identification of a body found in a shallow grave off of Highway 180 three years prior: David Wilkinson, who the Coconino County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office believed had been murdered. As in Eaton鈥檚 case, no suspect has been identified.
鈥淭he formation of the Cold Case Unit is an important step in ensuring that justice is not delayed or forgotten,鈥� Coconino Sheriff Bret Axlund said in a press release. 鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to leveraging our expertise and working together with the county attorney鈥檚 office to reexamine every piece of evidence and investigate every lead. This collaborative approach strengthens our ability to solve these cases.鈥�
In the same release, Flagstaff Police Department Chief Sean Connolly said, 鈥淲e are deeply committed to seeking justice for those impacted by these unsolved crimes. This Cold Case Unit brings together the right people, resources and technology to reexamine the evidence and provide the families of victims the answers they deserve.鈥�