Springfield Cold Case Unit

Campbells arrest comes.. as the city renews its focus on unsolved murders. 13 unsolved murders are posted on Sangamon and Menard Counties Crime Stoppers Website ... None have been solved since 2001. And the police chief says this *cold case unit is different .. than Crime Stoppers ... The former Gang and Major Case unit. "These detectives wont get any new cases, no new homicides. Strictly these will be cold cases assigned to them. Working with victims families." Said Springfield Police Chief Don Kliment. Many critics want the police department to re-open the major case unit ... But the chief says if they to want solve murders that cant happen. "Cases were assigned out to individual detectives didnt work out as well because the detectives still had case loads." Said Kliment. So this week detectives launched a Cold Case unit ... With three detectives solely focusing on at least 11 murders including 2005s double murder of Mr. Fresh and Lakisha Criss. "We decided we needed to alleviate that and make a commitment to these homicide victims families and to the victim to do justice to these cases." Said Kliment. Wednesday marks one year since cousins Santiago Roberts and Victor Chairs were fatally shot... But police say their case hasnt turned cold yet. "It is a cold case to me because its been a year and like nothing has happened. They dont tell you anything they just tell you the same thing over and over. Theyre just working tying things up." Said Santiagos former fiancé, Melissa Herrin. The police say they havent decided what makes a cold case and what doesnt. But Roberts fiancé says she hopes the case wont turn cold but maybe that would get more attention from police and from the community. "I think there are people that know stuff but they arent coming forward because they dont want to or they are scared." The police chief says as long as hes around ... The major case unit wont come back. There were too many things wrong with it including .. the two detectives Jim Graham and Paul Carpenters handling of evidence ... Theyve been fired. As for the cold case unit ... The chief says positions wont be filled immediately but eventually.