The office of the ocean county prosecutor is seeking this funding to assist with the 29 cold case homicides and countless number of unidentified human remains, many of which are believed to be…

The County of Ocean in New Jersey received a $500,000 Project Grant award under the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program (CFDA 16.833) from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The funding will support the following activities over a 3-year period from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026:

(1) Testing or retesting evidence items from 29 cold case homicides and unidentified human remains cases, many of which are believed to be sexually motivated;

(2) Providing training and overtime for detectives in the County Prosecutor's Major Crime Unit;

(3) Enhancing victim services;

(4) Covering travel costs associated with engagements regarding persons of interest; and

(5) Conducting case review and further analysis of violent crime cold cases.

The County will work in partnership with the Cold Case Regional Task Force, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, and the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit to implement this project.

The office of the ocean county prosecutor is seeking this funding to assist with the 29 cold case homicides and countless number of unidentified human remains, many of which are believed to be sexually motivated based on evidence or facts learned throughout the investigation. In addition, this office processed more than 200 sexual assault kits over the past three years that are sent to the njsp office of forensic science, which adds greatly to their case load and ability to processes evidence in a timely manner. FY 2023 saki grant funds would be used for the following: (1) testing or retesting evidence items in these cases, (2) training and overtime, (3) enhancing victim services, (4) travel costs associated with engagements with persons of interest, and (5) case review and further analysis of the violent crime cold cases. Detectives from the office of the ocean county prosecutor, major crime unit will lead this project. They will work in partnership with the cold case regional task force, njsp office of forensic sciences, the new jersey office of the attorney general, and the new jersey state police cold case unit.