Vancouver police seek help of armchair sleuths to crack unsolved killings

The Vancouver Police Department has launched what may be the country's most ambitious, user-friendly cold-case web site.

A lot of police web sites list basic information on cold cases but VPD Cold Cases is set up in such a way to draw people into the files of unsolved homicides and hopefully generate fresh tips.

"We all know that the method and speed by which people communicate has evolved, and that the Internet plays a huge role in our lives," Vancouver deputy chief Adam Palmer told a news conference in remarks posted on VPD's web site.

"Our goal is to reach as large an audience as possible to give people an opportunity to provide valuable input on homicide cases, some of which have been inactive or 'cold' for a number of years."

Visitors can click on the individual files to see a short narrative summary of the case, news stories from the time, a Google map showing relevant locations and a few photos.

[ Related: RCMP make arrest in cold case killing of Manitoba girl ]

Anyone looking for lurid crime-scene shots, though, will be disappointed. No bloody corpses or dramatic blood spattered walls. The photos are mostly street views and bland interior shots along with mug-sized photos of the victims aimed at jogging a potential witness's memory.

The site currently has eight files dating back as far as 1981, which will be updated as new information comes in, the department said.

"These cases were chosen for a number of reasons, including the families being supportive," Palmer said.

One of the most intriguing is the case of Danielle Larue, who disappeared in 2002. Police received a letter on New Year's Eve that year, purporting to be from someone who confesses to killing a sex-trade worker the previous month and apologizes to her family.

"I send this info so you can notify her family," the letter writer says. "If you can, please make mention of her name in Vancouver Sun. I would like to know who she was."

Police think the letter refers to Larue, a drug-addicted prostitute who lived on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Her body has never been found, though the letter refers to a grave site the purported killer said he intended to visit regularly.

"Perhaps a tortured conscience will finally bring answers, justice and closure for Danielle’s family," the cold-case overview says.

[ Related: New TV show uncovers leads in University of Toronto cold case ]

Palmer told reporters among those he hopes will visit the site are former gangsters and others with one-time criminal connections, the Vancouver Province said.

“Sometimes people involved in a lifestyle such as gangs and drugs, they have moved past that and hopefully some of these people will come through with information,” he said. “It is often just a small lead that can lead to an arrest.”

But police acknowledge that suspects in older cases may be dead, the Province said.

The web site will focus on cases that are inactive for lack of fresh leads and, said Palmer, ones where no suspect has been identified.

Not all the relevant information will end up on the web site, homicide investigator Sgt. Dale Weidman said. For instance, the mystery letter in the Larue case has blacked-out sections.

“We have what we call hold-back evidence that the perpetrator will know,” said Weidman.

Many police agencies maintain cold case web pages that vary in detail.

The Toronto Police Service's homicide squad has an extensive web listing of unsolved cases going back to 1973, which also allows readers to browse descriptions, photos and in some cases video related to the killings.

The Calgary Police Service, by contrast, offers only a page pleading for tips but refers people to the RCMP's national listing of cold cases, which is limited to a simple summary and mug shot of the victim.