SALT LAKE CITY — Cold case investigations in Salt Lake City will receive a financial boost with a $270,000 grant awarded by the Department of Justice, police announced Wednesday.

The grant money will be used to test DNA from cold case homicide and rape investigations, according to the Salt Lake City Police Department. The Salt Lake City Homicide and Special Victim Squads, Victim Advocate Unit, District Attorney’s Office and private laboratory Sorenson Forensics will work together on the investigations.

“We hope the DNA testing will develop new leads that, combined with other evidence, help us bring violent offenders to justice,” Chief Chris Burbank said in a prepared statement.

Twenty-five law enforcement agencies were awarded funds from the DOJ, totaling just less than $5 million. Salt Lake City received the largest grant, according to the National Institute of Justice. Several other agencies received just less than $27,000.

"The unknown is the worst," said Detective Cody Lougy, who dissected the Debra Lee Frost missing person case when he worked homicide.

The 17-year-old West High School student vanished at 250 E. 200 South in Salt Lake City, only a half block from the old police station. Lougy believes DNA testing could be the key in Frost's case and other unsolved homicide and sexual assault cases in their files.

When Lougy worked that case several years ago, the detective discovered Frost had surfaced in Rock Springs, Wyoming, one week after her disappearance. He zeroed in on a person of interest, but he had already died.

"Unfortunately, I still could not get closure for the family," he said. "We still could not locate her body."

He said there's nothing more rewarding than solving a cold case, and DNA is often the key.

"The advancements in DNA testing are huge. Unfortunately, it's very expensive," Lougy said.

DNA testing can range from $5000 to $40,000, depending on the case, and the amount of testing necessary. But, Lougy said, the detectives know they can get results with this money. He said, they see new advancements in DNA technology and national databases every few years. When they work those tools together, they solve cold cases.

"It's bringing people home, and it's holding people accountable."

Right now, Lougy said the department has 70 cold case homicides dating back to the 60s and 70s, and numerous rape cases. Police detectives will work with the District Attorney's office and the Victim Advocate Program to prioritize the list.

"We will rally together, and work together as a team to bring closure to some of these very, very old cases," he said.

These are the cases that stick with the detectives, in a personal way.

"You never forget about them," Lougy said. "In fact, Debra was only 17 years old. I have a 17-year-old daughter. So, yeah, they do stick with you. And you do want to get closure for that family. You want to bring her home."

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The grant program accepted applications from “states and units of local government for funding to identify, review, and investigate ‘violent crime cold cases’ that have the potential to be solved using DNA analysis, and to locate and analyze the biological evidence associated with these cases,” according to the NIJ.

The Salt Lake Police Department submitted its proposal, titled “SLCPD Solving Homicide and Forcible Rape Cold Cases with DNA,” earlier in 2014. The stated goals in the application were to assess current cases, provide evidence collection and case packaging training, investigate and solve targeted cold cases, and bring a level of closure to victims and their families.

“SLCPD will spend the next several months working through a revised budget for the award, which must also make its way through Salt Lake City’s budget amendment process, before drawing on the funds,” a statement from the department reads.

A backlog of more than 600 rape kits in the custody of Salt Lake police was discussed at a City Council meeting in April. The department has since committed to improving transparency.

An online portal for agencies to submit rape kits to the state’s crime lab was launched Oct. 1 with the goal of processing all rape kits.

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