Cold cases: Major shake-up for NSW Unsolved Homicide Unit
JUST 41 detectives form the NSW Unsolved Homicide Unit, tasked with finding answers to unsolved murders. In a bid to finally bring justice to the victims of some the state’s most enduring mysteries, the unit in for its biggest shake-up ever.
NSW
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JUST 41 detectives are responsible for finding answers for the hundreds of NSW families whose loved ones have been murdered but whose killers have never been found.
They are the investigators in the NSW Unsolved Homicide Unit, which is about to undergo its largest shake-up ever in a bid to finally bring justice to the victims of some the state’s most enduring mysteries.
It is run by three seasoned detectives who have more than 100 years of policing experience between them.
Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw is the head of the new review team and recently spearheaded the investigation that resulted in three members of the Brothers 4 Life gang being sentenced to a maximum 142 years’ jail for a series of violent crimes and two killings.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Olen was responsible for locking up Lin family murderer Robert Xie, while Detective Inspector Stewart Leggat has worked on a string of high-profile investigations.
After this painstaking process, a Sydney unit and four regional units were formed in 2008 to work on cases which had previously been investigated in isolation across the state.
In 2012 the regional units were dissolved and all the cold cases were brought back to one centralised unit based at NSW Police headquarters at Parramatta.
One of the its biggest achievements was the arrest of Leonard John Warwick, 69, who is expected to face a trial before a judge alone this week charged with four murders following a custody and property battle with his ex-wife in the 1980s.
Anyone with any information about any cases can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.