Detectives warm up to cold cases

By CATHY LOGG

Herald Writer

EVERETT – When Lynnwood Police detectives Jim Nelson and Steve Rider began working on an old, unsolved murder case, they ventured into uncharted territory.

"We couldn’t find many people who had worked a case this old to tell us what to do," Nelson said Monday.

But "cold cases" – any cases which are not actively being worked and have not been solved – are hot topics right now in police agencies across the country. With the crime rate down, some departments are turning their attention to cases they haven’t looked at for a long time.

Nelson and Rider shared their experience with law enforcement and medical personnel at a national training conference focusing on homicide investigation. The conference is being presented this week at Naval Station Everett.

The two have worked together as detectives for about three years, and both had training in forensic investigations at the University of Washington. Lynnwood had 10 unsolved homicides, and Nelson and Rider, along with other detectives, are taking another look at some of those cases, while still juggling their current caseload of 30 to 40 investigations.

Their big case involving 18-year-old Kimberly Kuntz will be featured sometime this summer on an Arts &amp Entertainment channel program about cold-case investigations.

On April 25, James L. Stephens Jr. was sentenced in Snohomish County Superior Court to 18 to 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of Kuntz, his sister-in-law, while she was baby-sitting his 3-year-old daughter.

Rider and Nelson worked on the case about two years. They reviewed for the conference participants the evidence initially gathered against Stephens, and the problems that caused prosecutors to drop the case.

In the intervening 23 years, crime scene investigations have changed, along with the evolution of scientific techniques for examining evidence.

The two detectives first had to study the case and familiarize themselves with what they had to work with, then develop a plan of attack as though it were a whole new investigation, re-examining the evidence, re-interviewing the witnesses and starting over with each piece. They warned against relying on previous assumptions about evidence or suspects and making the theory of the crime fit the evidence rather than the other way around.

"The hard part about any of this is bringing together what you knew at the time versus what you know now," Rider said.

Some of the initial forensic work hadn’t been completed when the case was dropped, some witnesses’ stories had changed. Nelson, through perseverance, located a missing slide, which gave them Kuntz’s blood type and DNA. The detectives also sent her shirt, which had been evaluated by the FBI laboratory for certain types of fluids, to a private lab that found a different body fluid that matched Stephens.

The detectives also discovered additional witnesses who gave them information and evidence the initial investigators didn’t have.

The case is one of the oldest homicides successfully prosecuted in Washington state. Sometimes, the intervening years between a crime and a cold investigation aren’t so kind. Some witnesses die, disappear or forget what they knew at the time.

Nelson and Rider urged other police departments to dig up old cases, dust them off and take another shot at solving them. Advances in forensic and computer technology, new information databases and other tools add to an investigator’s arsenal and complement good old-fashioned legwork and investigative skills.

In a separate presentation Monday, detectives Vic Caloca and Rick Scully of the San Diego, Calif., sheriff’s homicide unit presented a video, slide and oral presentation on their investigation of the Heaven’s Gate cult mass suicide in March 1997. The case presented numerous challenges for investigators, including the large number of corpses (39), determining whether the deaths were homicide or suicide, and dealing with hazardous materials.

Cult members committed suicide in three groups over several days, and were found in numerous rooms of a large mansion. Investigators had to painstakingly search and catalog items in every room. The county had to rent a refrigerated van to haul away so many bodies.

Fortunately for the detectives, cult members kept meticulous records that helped paint a picture of what happened in the house, and how and why it occurred.

Finding the body of cult leader Marshall Applewhite was difficult for the investigators.

"When we saw this guy, we had a lot of emotions," Caloca said. "We knew this guy had led all these people to their deaths."

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437or send e-mail to

logg@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Lynnwood councilor Joshua Binda speaks during a Lynnwood City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Does the Lynnwood Council VP live in Lynnwood? It’s hard to say.

Josh Binda’s residency has been called into question following an eviction and FEC filings listing an Everett address. He insists he lives in Lynnwood.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

Aaron Kennedy / The Herald
The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide.
Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.