How We Research
Our standards
Every case file in this archive is built from publicly available material.
1. Public record only
We draw from published news reporting, official law-enforcement statements, court filings, and documented investigative journalism — never rumor or unverified claims.
2. What counts as a credible news source
We prioritize established national and regional news organizations with real editorial standards and correction policies, and the local newspaper or television affiliate that actually covered a story on the ground — which is where most of this archive's local reporting comes from. Government and official sources (police statements, prosecutor's letters, court records, medical examiner findings) are treated as primary and given priority when available. We occasionally draw supplementary detail from documented investigative podcasts or genealogy research projects (the kind that cite their own underlying court and police records), but never as the sole source for a contested fact. We do not cite anonymous blogs, unverified social media posts, or outlets with no editorial accountability. When two credible accounts genuinely conflict, we say so rather than silently picking one.
3. No accusations without official basis
We do not name a person as a suspect or perpetrator unless that determination was made through an official process. Where a name has circulated publicly but has no official basis, we omit it.
4. Distinguishing fact from source, from the unconfirmed
Case boards separate documented fact, source information (attributed to Project Cold Case, Murder Accountability Project, or NamUs), and clearly marked unconfirmed information or unknown fields. Fields without a verified source read “NOT AVAILABLE IN CURRENT RECORD” rather than being filled with a guess.
5. “Unsolved” vs. “Unresolved — No Conviction”
Most cases here were never charged at all — a grand jury declined to indict, a prosecutor declined to file, or no suspect was ever named. Those are labeled Unsolved. A smaller number of cases did reach a full trial — charges were filed, a jury or judge heard the case, and it ended in acquittal, a hung jury with no retrial, or a directed verdict — without ever producing a conviction. Those are labeled Unresolved — No Conviction instead. Both statuses share this archive's central fact — no one has ever been convicted — but the procedural history is different, and we think that distinction matters enough to say plainly rather than flatten into one label.
6. Respectful language
We write about victims as people, not case numbers, and avoid graphic or speculative framing.
7. Corrections
Use the Submit a Case or Tip page to flag an error or contribute a documented source.