Florida has one of the highest numbers of unsolved homicides in the nation, with some cases dating back nearly six decades. However, a new state law may help crack these cold cases wide open.
Last week marked the deadline for collecting DNA samples from inmates who hadn’t been swabbed previously, adding vital information to a nationwide database.
“DNA testing has been the holy grail for law enforcement,” said John MacVeigh, a retired 23-year FBI veteran and now a cold case detective.
The law, House Bill 533, mandates that everyone arrested in Florida, regardless of the crime, must submit their DNA.
It aims to close a loophole that kept many inmates from providing DNA samples, which could help solve more than 20,000 homicide cases in the state.
Since its rollout in March, more than 150,000 samples have been collected and added to the FBI’s national database.
“Look, everybody starts out doing something small. Their criminal activity — they don’t immediately become Ted Bundy, doing serial killing,” MacVeigh said.
In Florida, the DNA database already leads to more than 4,500 hits on unsolved crimes every year, and authorities believe that number could soar with this new requirement.
“You see more and more agencies that are doing these cold cases because they know that they can go back and solve them,” MacVeigh said. “They get picked up on — a marijuana charge or some type of infraction or trespassing — they get swabbed, and you’re going to see more and more hits.”
The new legislation builds on an existing bill that mandated DNA samples only from those arrested or convicted of certain violent crimes. At the time, that law was sponsored and pushed forward by who is now Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
“I think that bill was a signature piece of legislation I’m most proud of. And today I believe there are people who were not injured and children who were not molested because of that bill,” Snyder said.
With tens of thousands of unsolved homicides still open in Florida, the hope is that this new law will turn these mysteries into closed cases for good. For law enforcement, it’s a chance to ensure that dangerous criminals never walk free again.
“They’re going to go to jail for the rest of their life, and they’re never going to hurt anybody again. And I think that’s the biggest benefit,” MacVeigh said.
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