JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An unfortunate reality that comes up in police work is the possibility of coming across a cold case, a case that no matter the effort put into solving it, no answers are found and a suspect is never arrested.
Since 1990 there have been 15,000 unsolved murders that have turned into cold cases, and one Jacksonville lawmaker has filed legislation to create a task force to address the problem and provide an answer to those who've lost a loved one and have said something needs to happen.
Ryan Backmann (pictured below) lost his father six years ago when someone killed him, and now he's supporting Sen. Aaron Bean in his quest to create a statewide task force to figure out how to approach solving those thousands of cold cases across the state.
"At the end of the day it is a public safety issue and we need to get the murderers off the street. So how much is that worth?" Backmann questioned.
This is the third time Bean has tried to pass legislation like this, and this time he's hoping things will be different and he can make a real push to get people who have committed serious crimes behind bars.
It's something the loved ones of those killed want to see, too. Loved ones like Backmann, who said he often wonders what it would feel like to see the person who shot and killed his dad in October 2009 arrested.
"That's something I've struggled with for almost six years now; why I am kind of resolved to the fact that I may never know that. But there are other people who I know we can find out," Backmann said.
It's that optimism that's pushing him to support Bean's (pictured below) plan to create a Cold Case Task Force.
Previous versions of Bean's plan included a statewide cold case database with a price tag of about $2 million, which Backmann said some state law enforcement leaders raised issues about.
"It is really easy to do that when it is someone else's life, but when it is your loved one's life that you are putting a dollar value on, I think people would look at things a little bit differently," Backmann said.
The latest version of Bean's plan does away with the cold case database and instead creates a 19-member task force that would include sheriff's offices, prosecutors and even family members of victims.
They would examine law enforcement policies and procedures, then make a recommendation.
"There are still a lot of unanswered questions about this bill, however we can agree that we need to do more, and our first step is create this task force," Bean said.
Bean said it's a great start, and it would give families like Backmann's hope.
"I don't know if my dad is going to be one of those ones that will be solved, but if his death leads to changes in laws, in law-enforcement policies and ultimately leads to murderers off the street and cases solved, then what more could I ask for?" Backmann said.
Bean said he is hoping to have a hearing in October to get the process started on this bill and have it ready for when the Legislature meets in January.