Police seek grant for cold case unit

By Sharon Gittleman
The Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — After more than 30 years on the job, a handful of unsolved crimes have never been far from Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte's thoughts.

He is hoping the creation of a cold case squad will lead to the capture of the people who committed those acts so long ago, and finally give family members some peace.

Two incidents prey most upon Bezotte's memories, he said. The disappearance of Paige Renkoski in May 1990 is one of them. Her car was found on I-96 near Fowlerville with the door open and her purse and shoes left behind, he said.

Christina Castiglione's slaying is another one Bezotte said he would like to see the unit tackle. She was picked up hitchhiking on March 19, 1983, Bezotte said, and her body was found in Cohoctah Township.

The unit would investigate nearly 60 crimes from Washtenaw County and a dozen from Livingston. Four retired homicide detectives would staff the squad, which would be managed by the Michigan State Police, he said.

"A lot of these cases are solvable if you put the time into it," Bezotte said.

Law enforcement officials have applied for a $550,000 federal grant to fund the unit. A response is expected this summer, said Bezotte.

Over the years, authorities have compared DNA samples related to the two cases whenever a serial killer is thought to have prowled the areas at that time, Bezotte said.

"You become involved with the families and you feel their pain of missing a loved one, especially when there's a murder. It's really tough on the families," he said. "You think, did you miss something? Could you have done more?"

Gordie Ralph, 49, a retired detective who served with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 25 years until he retired in 2007, is one of the officers being considered for the cold case squad.

"You want to give the families of the victims closure," he said. "You want to bring the person to justice that's responsible for whatever crime you're investigating."

Copyright 2008 The Detroit Free Press