The Colorado Victim Rights Act was revised beginning July 1st, 2007 to reflect that after one year of remaining unsolved, felony crimes (like Homicide or Sexual Assault) will be classified as a "cold case". This, however, does not mean that the case is no longer actively being investigated. The victim or family member can contact the assigned investigator on the case to inquire about the current status of the investigation. The purpose of labeling a case with the title "cold case" is to operationally define the following statutes that relate to Colorado's advocacy for the investigation of Cold Cases.
C.R.S. 24-4. 1-302:
(1.2) "Cold case" means a felony crime reported to law enforcement that has remained unsolved for over one year after the crime was initially reported to law enforcement and for which the applicable statute of limitations has not expired.
C.R.S. 24-4. 1-303(10) (b):
(IV) The law enforcement agency shall provide the victim in a cold case information concerning any change in the status of the case. In addition, upon the written request of the victim, the law enforcement agency shall provide an update at least annually to the victim concerning the status of a cold case involving one or more crimes for which the criminal statute of limitations is longer than three years.
*Note: If you are the victim of a sexual assault or the family member of a homicide victim and would like to opt in for annual notification of updates on the investigation into your case, please contact Sarah Chaikin at Sarah.Chaikin@denvergov.org or fill out and submit this form to the attention of Sarah Chaikin.