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Cold Case Unit

The Buffalo Police Cold Case Unit specializes in investigating old, unsolved crimes. The investigative unit was re-instituted by Mayor Byron W. Brown and the Buffalo Police Department in March of 2006. Since then the Buffalo Police Cold Case Squad has been instrumental in solving a number of high profile cases including the Bike Path Rapist case and an arrest in the 1993 murder of South Buffalo native Joan Giambra.

A case has gone "cold" when investigators determine that all potential leads have "dried up". Detectives usually re-open a "cold case" based on the following reasons:

• New evidence has come to light;
• The victim's physical remains have been discovered;
• A witness has decided to come forward.

Here are a number of "cold cases" that detectives are currently working on:

TODD HAINEY
Date of Homicide: 9-16-96
white Male, age 32
Found shot to death near the railroad tracks off of Hertal Ave.
Homicide Case # 96-145

Hattie Mae Calhoun
Date of Homicide: 8-3-97
Black female, age 36
Murdered in her own home at 351 West Ave.
Homicide case # 97-132

Victim: Willette Simmons
Age: 34
Black Female
Date of Homicide: 05-09-1981
Place of Occurrence: 934 Lafayette
Cold Case Homicide # 81-1832
Case Description: Victim found stabbed to death while her three children slept in the rear of the families 1st floor apartment.

Victim: Daniel Joseph Frank
Age: 19
White Male
Date of Homicide: 11-14-1977
Place of Occurrence: 692 Ba
Cold Case Homicide # 73-1285
Case Description: Victim found stabbed to death in a p.

Victim: Journey Cooper
Age: 17
Black Male
Date of Homicide: 06-02-2005
Place of Occurrence: 400 Grant St
Cold Case Homicide # 05-108
Case Description: Victim found on the fire escape in the rear of 400 Grant

Victim: Timothy Bryant
Black Male
Date of Homicide: 2-15-96
Place of Occurrence: Fillmore Avenue and
Woeppel St.
Cold Case Homicide # 96-024
Case Description: Young victim found shot to death outside of a store

Victim: Hector Melendez
Hispanic Male
Date of Homicide: 8-12-98
Place of Occurrence: 354 Koons Avenue
Cold Case Homicide # 98-146
Case Description: Victim shot to death. He was last seen in the company of two unidentified females.

Victim: Jeanene R. Bowman
Age: 17 (at time of her disappearance) Missing Person
Case Description: Missing since 2-10-1977.

Victim:  Jane "Gramma" Doe
Date of Discovery: 9-26-95
Case Description: Victim found floating in the water off of Squaw Island in September of 1995. This still unidentified white female was 60-to-70 years of age. She was a white female with gray hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a trench type coat with a butterfly pin on it and new sneakers when she was found.

If you have information on these cold cases or any other cold cases please call the Buffalo Police Cold Case Squad at (716)851-4511 or email us at www.bpdny.org and then click on the "Report a Tip" section on our home page . The Buffalo Police Cold Case Squad is made up of the current members; Detective Charles Aronica, Detective Lissa Redmond and Detective Brian Ross.