Funding, time and staffing limit real cold case detectives
Time can be an enemy for any detective working to solve a crime.
Memories fade, people move on and it's difficult to carve out time to search for suspects from five or 10 years ago, when there's fresh cases coming up every day.
But time also can be an ally for cold case investigators.
"With homicides, there's no statute of limitations," said Sugar Grove investigator John Sizer. "Over a period of time, those loyalties change, relationships break apart. A wife could be very loyal to a husband and now hates his guts."
Time's effect on allegiances helped Aurora Police and FBI agents bring charges in 22 cases through "Operation First Degree Burn."
The investigation, which started when authorities went on a gang sweep, helped Kane County prosecutors charge 32 people with 22 homicides.
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