Of the known 300,000 cold cases across the United States, more than 20,000 of those unsolved homicides are in Texas, according to the office of Texas Attorney General.
In 2021, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton created the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit (https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/criminal-justice/cold-case-and-missing-persons-unit).
When KPRC 2′s Zach Lashway launched KPRC’s Solvable, an original multi-platform series that sheds light on cold cases throughout the greater Houston area, he went to Austin to talk to Attorney General Paxton and get insight on how the Unit works.
Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit
“I just started realizing there was no central location that really focused on it. And a lot of these local counties didn’t have the resources, they didn’t have the expertise. And I felt like there needed to be a statewide repository for expertise and for information, and then hopefully a prosecution team, investigation team.” Explained Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The unit has three full time investigators working more than 30 of Texas’ unsolved homicides and missing persons cases.
“They’re not simple cases. They’re difficult cases that take time to resolve it. In my opinion, everyone that you resolve brings justice and brings closure for a family that really is looking for that.” Explained Paxton.
Edmond Ford and Joseph Billie
Cousins murdered years apart, both unsolved. Are they connected?
Edmond was murdered inside his apartment on Woodfair Drive in November 2016. Joseph was found dead in the middle of Hondo Street in June 2019.
READ MORE: ‘No family should have to go through this’: One family, two cold cases
Erica Garcia
Murdered in the middle of the night, 14-year-old Erica Garcia was raped and killed in June 1997. A night out with friends in June 1997 would be the last time anybody would ever see or hear from the Sharpstown Middle schooler. Her body was left inside the shuttered Alief General Hospital along Bellaire Boulevard.
Shelly Franklin
The Galveston County mother of two was found dead inside her home Thanksgiving of 1986.
FULL STORY: ‘I didn’t celebrate Mother’s Day’: Son begs for answers 35+ years after mom’s murder
Swimsuit Boy
The last of the known victims of Houston’s Candy Man killer to be identified. Found in the summer of 1973, authorities believe the boy was between 15 and 18-years-old.
He was found with this long-sleeved khaki shirt with a blue peace symbol and swimming trunks, dark-blue corduroys, a leather ankle bracelet and these cowboy boots.
Mary Morris
Two women, same name, both murdered in Houston days apart. The year was 2000. Mary Lou Morris was found dead inside a torched car on a rural road in an area north of Baytown.
Days later another Mary Morris was found dead inside a vehicle in Northwest Houston. Are these murders connected? Both murders remain unsolved.
READ MORE: Murders of Mary Morris: 2 Houston women with shared name, no relation, but killed days apart
If you have a Houston-area cold case you’d like Solvable to examine, email solvable@kprc.com or zlashway@kprc.com.
