UCO Students Help Tulsa County Cold Case Task Force

In September, the Tulsa County Cold Case Task Force partnered with a small group of Master’s students at Central Oklahoma University to assist them with its 30 unsolved cold cases.

The students, who are studying forensic science, are given the opportunity to look over case files, police reports and dive into real world cases.

“They give us their input from a different set of eyes. It’s really a give-and-take thing, and we’ve really benefited from it,” Mike Huff, with the Tulsa County Cold Case Task Force said.

“I think the students really feel honored to not only get some education about real life cases but to know they may have some sort of input to bring some resolution to a case.”

One case the students have been very hands on with has been the death investigation of Veda Woodson, 38. 

“Our professors at the university - they present cases to us, but we aren’t getting to dig into case files, see the actual police reports, work through something from start-to-finish – we just get scenarios in academic setting so it’s a very different experience for the students; it’s like be being on the job,” grad student Amber Fortney said.

Fortney is currently working on her research project on cold case investigations and says she’s always been intrigued by cold cases and the mystery that surrounds them.

“I think fresh eyes are invaluable on these cold cases. They’re cold for a reason,” she added.

So far with the assistance of the students no cases have been solved, but Huff admitted that some of the questions the students have asked have sparked some interesting and thought-provoking conversations.

“There certainly has been some outside-the-box thinking, and I don’t really want to tip the scale on exactly what that was - but you know it was a really good thought that they had, and like anything else with cold cases nothing is fast,” said Huff.