Colorado has a backlog of 1,430 unsolved murders dating back to 1970. The killers of these victims have never been prosecuted for these murders. They walk among us. They live in our neighborhoods. These murderers, who have escaped justice, pose a serious threat to the safety of every Colorado citizen.

Murder is a crime against the state. FOHVAMP maintains that when a case cannot be solved by local law enforcement in a reasonable period of time, the state has an obligation to step in.

For the past five years FOHVAMP has advocated a state-level cold case team to help investigate these unsolved homicides. The state bureaucracy has been unresponsive. In 2007, the legislature created a cold case team at Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with only enough funding for a single analyst to collect data from law enforcement agencies.

FOHVAMP and CBI make periodic comparisons to insure the accuracy of that data.

Because of the budget crunch, the legislature insists that any proposal for a new program include a funding source to pay for it. We understand and agree with that. We estimate the Cold Case Team at CBI — with expanded lab facilities and administrative support—will cost from $1.5 to 3.0 million per year.

As we examined programs in the criminal justice area to find the needed funds, one stood out as a complete failure: Colorado’s death penalty.

In the last 40 years there have been 7,000 murders in Colorado. During that period, our District Attorneys have attempted to impose the death penalty 130 times. But we have executed only one person. The cost to prosecute and defend these accused killers in a death penalty case: $4 million per year in excess of a non death penalty trial.

FOHVAMP believes the death penalty—as it is practiced in Colorado—is a waste of taxpayers money. It is no deterrent to those who contemplate murder. We propose to eliminate the death penalty and use those funds to investigate our unsolved murders. The most effective deterrent is the certainty of apprehension. Too many people are getting away with murder.

Since 2001 FOHVAMP has advocated for the families of cold case homicide victims and persons missing under suspicious circumstances in Colorado. By bringing together families and friends united by a common tragedy, FOHVAMP mentors these individuals seeking justice for their loved ones.

Services

• Finding, contacting and offering services to family members and friends of the victim
• Out of our collective experience, we give guidance: to family members about dealing with law enforcement; to law enforcement about dealing with co-victims of cold cases
• Assisting family members seeking to publicize their unsolved murders; acting as spokesman for co-victims of unsolved murders
• Maintaining and managing a website where co-victims can find us and learn about FOHVAMP
• Making accessible to the public a database of all Colorado's unsolved murders
• Sending co-victims a remembrance card on the anniversary date of their victims' murder or disappearance
• Organizing Annual Meetings, workshops and forums to bring law enforcement and family members together for discussion of issues of common interest relating to these murders
• Advocating for cold case co-victims at the state and local levels

Accomplishments

• Assembled data over a six year period of every victim of an unsolved Colorado murder dating back to 1970
• Joined with COVA to amend the Victim Rights Act to recognize needs of cold case families
• CRS 24-33.5-425. Cold case homicide team. FOHVAMP helped bring about a Cold Case Task Force in the Department of Public Safety and required CBI to maintain a database of unsolved murders. This law requires all law enforcement agencies to report unsolved murders to CBI that have been open for three years or more. It also allows cold case family members to ask local agencies to call in CBI’s cold case homicide team to assist with their investigation. If the agency declines, it must send a written explanation to the family member.
• Found and reached out to over 520 friends and family members of cold case victims in seven years
• Collaborating with Colorado State University’s Center for the Study of Crime and Justice to provide guidance to law enforcement agencies about improving communications with cold case co-victims

Goals

• Create a State Cold Case Team to effectively address the growing number* of unresolved homicides and suspicious cases of long-time missing persons [*Currently 1,430 victims]
• Develop fact-based training guides for law enforcement about communications with families of cold case murder victims
• Educate victim service people about contacting and serving cold case covictims

Officers and Directors

President:
Sherry Lee Burt, Denver, CO
Mother of murder victim Marilee Burt

Vice-President:
Mark Reichert, Greeley, CO
Brother of murder victim Michael Reichert

Executive Director
Howard Morton, Pine, CO
Father of murder victim Guy Morton

Secretary
Celestina Terry, Colorado Springs, CO
Sister of murder victim Troy Leyba

Board Member
James D. Stewart, Denver, CO
Father of murder victim Cindy Stewart

Board Member
David A. Fisher, Jr. Denver, CO
Division Chief, Investigations, Denver PD

Board Member
Kathy Anderson, Windsor, CO
Mother of murder victim Mitch Anderson

Board Member
Diane H. Riechert, Centennial, CO
Best friend of murder victim Connie Paris