FAIRBANKS — Poking around the city of Fairbanks' website, you can find the municipal budget, a map of the area, a calendar of events and now descriptions of unsolved homicides.
Photos of 14 homicide victims can be found on the site next to brief descriptions of their deaths in an attempt to find new leads and educate the public about unsolved homicides, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
The city of Fairbanks never closes cold cases. The unsolved cases currently listed online go back as far as 1983, but officials plan to add even older homicides to the list. That process takes time, however, because the records are on paper or microfilm and not as reliable.
Detective Peyton Meredith presented the cases profile online during Monday's City Council meeting. He has personally worked on most of the unsolved murders during his decade as a detective.
He said some cases will be "very difficult" to solve, while others should already be in the hands of the district attorney.
Meredith wouldn't provide much information on the May killing of John Kavairlook Jr., which is listed first on the webpage.
He got into a little more detail about other killings, like that of David "Barry" McNulty, who was shot to death in 1994 while working as a clerk at a party store.
"It seems like every time we get a suspect, it just kind of falls apart after that," explained Meredith.
Three detectives handle the cold cases, but they juggle that work with current crimes, including serious assaults. Meredith said that can mean older cases are lower priority.
"To put it bluntly, these cases require a lot of time, and a lot of energy, and a lot of resources," said Meredith.