In 1997, a headless body was found in a Blissfield Township field. Officers struggled to find any suspects due to the body’s lack of identifying details and insufficient DNAtesting, so the case quickly went cold. Progress on the case remained minimalfor nearly thirty years until the Michigan State Police were finally able to name the prime suspects-a job that was completed with the help of MSU criminal justice students through the Cold Case Unit program.
The program got its start in 2020 when detective sergeant Larry Rothman was asked by his bosses at the Michigan State Police if he would be interested in leading an internship. Rothman had heard about collaborations between police and local university students in different parts of the country and sought to create a similar unit in Michigan. Rothman’s choice to partner with MSU stemmed from the fact that its criminal justice program is the oldestcontinuous degree granting program in the country.
Rothman had been working on the case of the Blissfield Township John Doe since 2016. When the collaboration began, MSU students primarily digitized and organized the case files but were also able to work directly with law enforcement to help prepare for trial…