Henderson police assign teams to tackle cold cases

Since 1976, the killers in 23 Henderson slayings have gone unpunished.

As those cases remained unsolved, Henderson police, like the vast majority of police departments across the country, dedicated cold case homicide detectives to review evidence and search for new leads.

But last week, Henderson police adopted a new approach to cold cases.

On Thursday the department assembled a team of specialists, including crime analysts, computer crimes investigators and detectives, to review a recent cold case.

The team concept is new in Southern Nevada, and may be unique throughout the country, Henderson police said.

"Basically, it's the team concept: a lot more minds tackling a particular case opens up all kinds of different avenues," said Lt. Bruce Swanson, who oversees the department's criminal investigation division.

The handpicked team consists of people who might never have the opportunity to delve into a cold case file. Crime scene analysts and forensics specialists, for example, are civilian employees and not police officers.

What is unique is that the team members will be given the case file and, with the exception of re-interviewing witnesses, be allowed to investigate the murders as they see fit.

"We're not limiting them," Swanson said. "It's wide open to their imaginations."

Different teams will investigate different cold cases. A case that doesn't have any DNA evidence, for example, will probably not have a team member who specializes in DNA examinations.

Nor will the case reviews be limited to homicides. They'll investigate missing persons cases, suspicious deaths and high-profile violent crimes that have gone cold, Swanson said.

The teams will meet once a month. Members will have to continue doing their regular duties. The department has also set up a website highlighting the cold cases and will update it if the teams uncover new leads.

The first team has started work on an unsolved double-homicide from 2005.

"There's a lot of unsettling things" about the case, Swanson said. "The viciousness, the heinousness of this crime also brought it to the forefront."

About 1:30 a.m. on May 4, a gunman kicked in the front door of a home on Camelback Ridge Avenue, near Paseo Verde Parkway and Valley Verde Drive in Henderson.

The gunman opened fire on the family. Jennifer Davis, 46, was asleep on the couch in the living room. She died at the scene. Her 18-year-old son, Christian Davis, a senior at Coronado High School, died in a hospital room more than a month later.

Police have a vague description of the male suspect: a light-skinned black or Hispanic in his late teens or early 20s who might have dreadlocks. The suspect had to hold up his dark baggy pants as he fled to a late 1980s model red or maroon two-door hatchback.

Investigators do not believe it was a random crime. Henderson police have not named a motive in the homicides.

The seven-member team consists of a patrol officer, a forensics specialist, a crime analyst, two detectives from different sections, and a veteran Henderson officer who used to investigate homicides for a different agency.

The crime scene analyst is Stephanie Wilson, who has worked crime scenes, including homicides, for five years. She said she was excited when her supervisor presented her with the idea of joining the team.

"I thought it was a great idea, to be honest," she said.

Not only will she bring a new set of eyes to the case, but she said she will be able to use new analysis techniques that were not available five years ago.

The science is "constantly evolving," she said.

While being on the team is an honor, having the chance to bring closure to the victims' family is the real reward.

"I've worked cases that haven't been solved, too," Wilson said. "They stay with you, and you always hope that a new lead will pop up and you can bring the family justice."

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.