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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah is turning to 21st century technology to try to solve old murders.
"These are cases where we can give resolution to families," said Ken Wallentine, chief of law enforcement in the Utah attorney general's office. "People getting away with murder literally can finally find justice."
The Utah Technology Assistance Program, known as UTAP, will use high-tech forensic equipment, including an ultraviolet camera, portable lasers and other devices, to re-evaluate evidence in cold cases.
Equipment was purchased with a $58,000 grant from the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
"You bring a cold case to UTAP and what you get is an audience with a talented review board, support for as long as you work on the case, and the AG's office resources," said Charles Illsley, a retired West Valley City police detective who is a forensics consultant.
With investigators, prosecutors, forensics experts and others, UTAP is a "think tank" for unsolved crimes, Wallentine said.
The group can help rural and small police agencies lacking the budget and staff to pursue cold cases.
UTAP hopes to crack the murder of Rachael Runyan, a 3-year-old who vanished from a park in Davis County in 1982. Her body was found after 24 days. There have been no arrests.
"I feel confident that we will bring to bear on that case every possible piece of modern forensic technology and science," Wallentine said.
A similar program, known as the Utah Criminal Tracking and Analysis Project, died for lack of personnel and support.
Information from: Deseret Morning News
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
