Cold case unit to get cut

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Cold crime cases in Connecticut could be getting colder as resources for the state's Cold Case Unit appear to have been slashed.

It's estimated that there are over 900 unsolved cold cases in the state since 1980, but now some victims say they will remain that way because of budget cuts.

Six years ago next month a young mother of three was burned to death in an arson-murder case in Branford. The case remains unsolved, and now the family of Kathleen Hardy fears the case may never be solved.

"We just found out that basically there is no 'Cold Case Unit' anymore," said Elizabeth Barrett, mother of the victim.

Hardy's family came to the Capitol Wednesday to plead that a $100,000 budget cut affecting the two investigators involved in cold cases be restored by the Governor because now their hopes are fading.

"Upon waking, I think could this be the day," Elizabeth Barrett said "...could this be the day they find out who did this to my daughter?"

"It will be a banner day for criminals in the state of Connecticut," said Bob Barrett, father of the victim, "the one's that haven't been caught so far, they'll probably never be caught because no one is going to be investigating their cases."

"These reductions negatively impact crime victims and their families, not just in the field and the courts," said State Victim Advocate Michelle Cruz, "but also halting justice for the over 1,400 families attached to the pending 'Cold and Missing Persons' case in the state."

The Malloy administration says some resources have been reallocated to address recent shootings in Hartford and other cities and there is some overlap with cold cases.

"Just last week we established a missing persons' group," Malloy said, "and the overlap between those cases is actually fairly significant."

"If this was his child, would he still sit down with his pen and cross that off the budget," Bob Barrett questioned. "I doubt it."

The administration says those cold case skills have been used in reducing shootings in the major cities because many of the shooters are involved in cold cases themselves, and they go on to promise that the unit will remain active on all cases it has been investigating.