Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST VALLEY CITY — After more than six years, the death of Sherry Black remains unsolved.
Since Black's death, Heidi and Greg Miller have kept up efforts in hopes of finding justice and a sense of peace. On Tuesday, the Miller family announced a new effort in hopes of not only solving Black's case, but helping law enforcement across the country better solve their own cases.
The Miller family announced the creation of the Sherry Black Education Foundation, which will sponsor a new, three-day crime assessment training symposium to help law enforcement officers improve their techniques for solving many types of violent crimes, such as the one that took Black's life.
"Greg and I have come to learn that more than 230,000 homicides committed between 1980 and 2014 also remain unsolved," Heidi Miller, Black's daughter, said. "The percentage of solved crimes that led to an arrest has fallen considerably in the past 50 years."
Heidi Miller said she hopes that the crime symposium will help to better equip law enforcement and bring comfort to families who are suffering as she and her husband have, since her mother's death in November 2010.
The seminar, scheduled for June 26-30 in Sandy, will be led by Richard Walter, a renowned forensic psychologist and crime consultant, as well as by Patrick Zirpoli, a criminologist and crime scene consultant. Both individuals have been actively involved in helping to solve Black's killing.
"Our hope is that by collaborating and bringing more experts into the effort, that we will be able to move the case forward," said Greg Miller, former Utah Jazz CEO who now serves as the team's representative on the NBA Board of Governors.
The symposium will include three days of education on a number of different criminal typology profiles, crime scene investigation and a discussion on interview methods. The symposium also offers an additional two days for cold-case consultations.
"Our combined goal is to help educate more than 1,000 detectives per year by providing new approaches to solving crime," Walter said.
The symposium will be designed to meet law enforcement accreditation standards. The event is open to law enforcement agencies throughout the country, as well as forensic scientists, coroners, judges and attorneys.
The Sherry Black Education Foundation hopes that a succesful conference will allow for similar conferences throughout the country.
A $50,000 reward remains available to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Black's killer.
On Nov. 30, 2010, Black, 64, was found stabbed to death inside her bookstore, B&W Billiards and Books, 3466 S. 700 East. To date, there is no known motive for the killing, and police have not identified a suspect or a person of interest in the case.
The only clues are an Armani Exchange men's belt that was left at the crime scene with a waist measurement of approximately 36-38 inches, and a sticker on the back of the buckle with the number "323." Detectives also found blood that DNA testing has determined came from a male but no matches have been found. Email: rmorgan@deseretnews.com
