The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "unsolved homicide" ...
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Maywood Confidential
On the evening of Oct. 23, 2006, as a premature snow fell in parts of the Chicago area, Maywood (Illinois) Police Officer Tom Wood pulled his marked SUV to a dimly lit corner known for drug sales, rolled down his window part of the way and began talking to somebody, likely a person he knew. Within minutes gunfire exploded from the street, ripping through the car and hitting Officer Wood in the head and elsewhere, killing the 37-year-old father of five almost instantly. More than six years later, the murder is still unsolved, and an eerie pall has been cast over the official investigation, and Maywood itself. The nonprofit Better Government Association (BGA) and WFLD-TV/FOX Chicago set out to determine what happened – why Officer Wood was killed and why the official investigation into his death had failed to produce an arrest or criminal charges. In a figurative sense, our findings (which form the basis for our entry) indict not a person, but a culture of corruption and apathy in Maywood that may have contributed to Officer Wood’s death, and certainly played a role in the subsequently botched homicide probe.
Tags: Murder; police officer; corruption; homicide
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Murder Mysteries
Using state and local Freedom of Information laws, Scripps Howard News Service conducted the most complete accounting ever of homicide victims in the United States. This includes 15,322 kilings never reported to the FBI.
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Murder Mysteries
Schripps Howard News Service has conducted the most complete accounting ever made of homicide victims in the United States. Aggressive use of state and local Freedom of Information laws allowed the wire service to assemble a database of 525,742 homicides, including records of 15,322 killings never reported to the FBI. The "Murder Mysteries" project calculated the homicide clearance rate for every police department in the U.S., prompting four departments to promise reforms. Scripps also developed an algorithm that identified 161 suspicious clusters of unsolved homicides involving women of similar age killed through similar means. Authorities in Gary, Ind., and Youngstown, Ohio, Launched new investigations into possible serial murder in their communities as a result of this project.
Tags: Murder; mystery; FBI; homicide; killings; serial killer; police department; investigation; FOI; algorithm; computer-assisted reporting;
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Fugitive in the Philippines
The story investigates an “unsolved disappearance and murder of a little boy and two mothers”. It is believed the serial killer is hiding in Southeast Asia, which is where the investigation led and even brought them to the suspect. He was the last known person to see the victims alive and detectives believe the” interview has helped them gather additional information”.
Tags: murderer; cold case; homicide; mystery; evidence; hiding; criminal; suspicion; vanish; depart
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"Lake County Homicides"
Reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski takes an in-depth look at homicides in the Lake Country region and reveals that many of the cases have gone unsolved. She also examines some of the deadliest streets in Gary, Ind., and in East Chicago and takes a look at what neighborhood residents are doing to try to harness the violence.
Tags: Gary; East Chicago; gang violence
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The Killing Fields
An investigation on murders of women with records of prostitution reviewed hundreds of homicide records and unclassified deaths, showing that more than eighty percent of the murders remain unsolved.
Tags: sex trade; strangling; hooker; trick; DNA; cold case; slaying; brothel; adult entertainment; red light district;
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Who Killed Chandra Levy
The Washington Post spent a year investigating the murder of Chandra Levy, a Washington intern who disappeared in May 2001. This series provides a rare look at an unsolved homicide case from the inside, following the twists and turns of an investigation that was filled with false hopes, false leads and false suspects.
Tags: law enforcement; homicide case; investigation; Gary Condit; Chandra Levy; unsolved cases; police department
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Justice for Peggy
An investigation into the 40-year-old unsolved torture sex slaying of 14-year-old Margaret Lynn "Peggy" Reber in Lebanon, Pa., the hometown of the reporters.
Tags: homicide; unsolved murder; justice; witnesses; prostitution; DNA evidence
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Speak No Evil
Early in the summer of 2005, Kansas City police predicted a record year for homicides. At the time, more than half of those murders were unsolved, and police blamed citizens who knew about the crimes but wouldn't come forward as a witness. This story exposes some of the reasons why people were reluctant to cooperate with police investigations -- including a vocal "Stop Snitchin'" movement.
Tags: police; crime; unsolved crimes; prosecutors; city government; public safety
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"Without a trace: People go missing, killers go free"
A 10-part series revealed that "because of ignorance, indifference or poor training, police in Washington state and around the nation routinely fumble missing-person reports." In its investigation, the newspaper built its own database of missing persons cases using reports from more than 270 police agencies statewide. The newspaper also built a second database of unidentified bodies through autopsy records and other reports.
Tags: missing persons reports; missing children; cold case; police; police records; National Crime Information Center; CAR; computer-assisted reporting; unsolved murder; homicide; unidentified body; Freedom of Information Act