CLAY COUNTY – For more than 35 years, the file had been handled by other detectives at the Green Cove Springs Police Department before Det. Cora Milliken took over the cold case four months ago.

She has already spent more than 100 hours poring through the information, hoping to see that one piece of information that may trigger the clue needed to solve the murder of Melinda Holder, who was found in the burned-out home at 404 Harrison St. on Dec. 11, 1989.

It’s frustrating when law enforcement doesn’t solve a crime, especially murder. For now, someone has escaped punishment; a family has grieved and suffered without answers; and investigators know that one hidden clue, if they can put it all together, will reveal the answer.

Holder wasn’t identified until 2019 when Mitochondrial DNA testing from the University of North Texas was compared to that of her son and daughter. When Milliken received the case, she essentially had to start over.

“I will not stop until I've exhausted everything,” she said. “I will not leave any page unturned. I will cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I.’ Based on my investigation so far, we’ve identified individuals of interest.

“The impact of the loss, that’s what gave me the push. I can’t imagine living in a world where my mom’s life was taken from me prematurely.”

According to the Cold Case Advisory Commission, a cold case is defined as one where investigative leads have been exhausted, witnesses are still available, DNA and other evidence exist with a good chain of custody, and the case officers believe there is solvability potential.

Cold cases present unique challenges because witnesses die, move, or their memories become unreliable. In most cases, investigators are new to the case and must rely on the notes of other detectives.

Smaller agencies, such as Green Cove Springs and the Orange Park Police Department, also lack the resources that allow investigators to concentrate full-time on cold cases.

That adds to the “frustration” of not being able to put someone behind bars, one officer said.

In Green Cove Springs, there are two “official” cold cases. In addition to Holder, the department is trying to find the clues that put the Yvonne Belcher case to rest.

She was last seen on Dec. 22, 2000, with her husband on Highland Avenue in Green Cove Springs after GCSPD was called to end a dispute. Despite nearly freezing temperatures, she reportedly walked down Highland Avenue at 2:30 a.m. A friend said he gave her a ride toward State Road 16 at daybreak, and she was never seen again. Although her body has never been recovered, the police considered Belcher to have been murdered.

Orange Park needs help finding who is responsible for killing Jillian Berrios on Oct. 19, 2013, and Ralph Anderson on Jan. 13, 1985.

Berrios was shot while she drove her car on Loring Avenue at 5:30 a.m. after celebrating a friend’s birthday with a night of partying and dancing.

Somebody followed her home and shot at her car. She was killed, and a passenger wasn’t hit.

Asst. Police Chief Cody Monroe is particularly frustrated because he believes somebody knows what happened.

“This one haunts me,” Monroe said. “It’s frustrating. It’s scary. It’s right there.”

He also promised not to stop looking for the shooter.

“The case has been left active since its beginning. Police department detectives have not stopped investigating this case,” he said. “A detective remains assigned to this homicide and is still working on new leads and new technology that may assist in solving this case. There's always new things that come out — new information, a new technology that we can explore to use.”

Anderson was shot in the back on Jan. 13, 1985, while cleaning the Village Saloon. When the officers arrived, they found the door open, leading them to believe that Anderson knew the assailant. OPPD has not closed the books on that case, either.

Sgt. Greg Swim said fingerprints will be resubmitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with hopes that advanced technology will provide new leads. But he said the best information needs to come from the community.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has four cold cases – Teryl Lynn Steele Orcutt, 26, who was found stabbed to death on Jan. 28, 1990, after her car was found running on County 218 on Jan. 21, 1990; Jennifer Leigh Medernach, 14, who was stabbed to death and on Nov. 4, 2001, while walking to the store and found four days later in a creek; Chelsea Rohn, 16, and Matthew Brumbaugh, 21, who were shot to death in their home on April 24, 2007, in Middleburg’s Greenwood subdivision; and, Mark Gregg, 54, who was shot with his shotgun on April 18, 2009. Several items were reported missing from his home. 

“The important thing is these families and reminding these families that we have not forgotten about them or advocating for these victims of violence,” Sheriff Michelle Cook said.