Helping future investigators solve decades-old cold case

It turns out a small mention in a local newspaper can give clues to help solve a decades-old homicide. And it might just take a librarian to help you find them.

In 2020, Western Michigan University students in Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten's Cold Case Program teamed up with the Michigan State Police to investigate the 1987 murder of Roxanne Wood. 

The students digitized and analyzed case files and conducted additional research to provide more details for detectives and create a possible timeline for a suspect's movements around the time of the murder.

Kuersten teamed up with Brad Dennis, education and human development librarian, for help with historical research. Dennis also worked with the students to hone their research skills for this case and their future careers.

"Brad has been nothing short of amazing helping the students in the WMU Cold Case Program investigate cold murder cases," says Kuersten, professor of sociology and criminal justice studies faculty member. "He was able to identify several similar homicides from old newspapers and other online data."

Dennis worked closely with Kuersten to locate newspaper archives in Michigan and Indiana, some of which had gone out of business. Dennis also helped the team narrow down appropriate key terms and newspapers that might include relevant coverage. 

The team sought any mentions of the suspect, which included minor legal infractions or marriage license announcements. Many of these records are unavailable digitally, so searching through newspaper archives is the best way to discover they exist. These details can help create a clearer picture of the timeline and movements of potential suspects.

"The reporter's job is more important than they realize," says Dennis. "What they wrote up in their report of that crime occurring is exactly what we're taking a look at 35 years later."

Of course, many newspaper archives are available on microfilm, which is laborious to look through and requires on-site access. Luckily, Dennis located a database with the needed coverage, so Kuersten and her students could continue their research without waiting for access to libraries out of state.

This research was beneficial for obtaining information from police departments and agencies across jurisdictions and state lines.

"Once you have information you can share with the police, it can give them more ideas on what to ask other police departments for," says Dennis. "Some of the things that we found in newspapers would then help students look in the files for those things too."

The case developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, so Dennis didn't meet the students in person until it was close to breaking. With so many of Western's classes moved online due to the pandemic, the opportunity for hands-on coursework was very engaging for students and helped put knowledge into practice.

"When you're primarily using textbooks and articles, you're learning theoretically about criminology. This program was so hands-on for them. It's great for their education," says Dennis.

"[Dennis] is so enthusiastic and creates this mentoring environment for the students; he listens carefully to their ideas and then helps them develop their own research questions," says Kuersten. "He has even brainstormed interrogation questions for defendants that could potentially be used by the detectives from the Michigan State [Police]."

A lot of Dennis' work with criminology classes has been in the academic realm, teaching them to use resources common in the field. Getting involved in a cold case was a surprise, but it leveraged skills that are librarians' bread and butter.

"Doing historical research is very much like doing an investigation. You're trying to find out what evidence we have that this thing actually occurred when it allegedly occurred. And a crime scene is a historical event," says Dennis.

With the conviction of Patrick Wayne Gilham in April 2022, justice for Roxanne Wood was finally achieved, giving her family the opportunity for closure.

"The [victim's] family, to me, is the most important thing," says Dennis. "The family waiting for information that could relieve or give closure on their case really stands out."

Western's Cold Case Program continues to grow as interest ignited nationwide.

"I just can't stress how much work they [Michigan State Police] put into this whole case. I think it's wonderful that they had trust in Western Michigan University and our students in order to do this," says Dennis.