Police vow to keep using innovative strategies to crack unsolved crimes in South Australia
The head of SA’s major crime investigations unit says police won’t stop working to crack unsolved crimes after Friday’s major breakthrough in the 2012 murder of Jason De Ieso.
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The breakthrough in the murder of Jason De Ieso is the ninth so far under Major Crime’s successful Operation Persist cold-case initiative.
Using a variety of innovative strategies, Operation Persist is still focusing on many other high-profile cold cases that have remained unsolved over the past few decades.
“Those who have committed a homicide may think they have gotten away with it initially but that does not mean they will get away with it forever,’’ Major Crime Investigation Branch officer-in-charge detective Superintendent Des Bray said.
“We will do everything humanly possible and do the best we can to solve every homicide.’’
There are 115 unsolved murders and disappearances in SA, dating back to the 1950s.
Some are notorious child abductions, others sadistic sex killings, and many are domestic violence related.
Since Operation Persist – which involves a partnership with the Sunday Mail and Channel 9 – was launched in 2015, detectives have closely scrutinised 25 unsolved cases.
A major component of Operation Persist has involved engaging with the state’s 3000 or so prisoners.
Playing cards – each featuring an unsolved murder – have been distributed to all prisoners, along with individual letters outlining benefits available to them if they help in solving cases.
Supt Bray, pictured, said “valuable’’ information had been provided by some prisoners in connection with numerous cases.
While detectives have been seeking the help of prisoners to provide information voluntarily, they have also been using recent legislative amendments to the Correctional Services Act, in some instances, to try to force co-operation.
Under Section 67 of the Act, the “no body, no parole’’ provision has been expanded to now include ‘‘no co-operation, no parole’’.
Those likely to be captured in this are criminals such as double child killer Dieter Pfennig, sex killer Bevan Spencer von Einem, and those involved in the murder of Cosimo Casteluzzo in 1992, and Paulo Miranda in 2008.
Another initiative to try to solve cold cases is the “corralling’’ of the DNA profiles of almost 250 paroled killers dating back to 1960.
It has also resulted in those targeted being fingerprinted again using the latest technology to compare with evidence found at the scenes of unsolved murders.
Once obtained, the parolees’ profiles are compared with unidentified DNA on the database.
In direct response to the ramped-up police investigations, extra resources have been provided to Forensic Science SA to fast-track the analysis of exhibits for DNA and other evidence.
This has already proved vital in several cases.
