Special to the
Opelika Observer
Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced last week that his office has hired an investigator to focus on open, unsolved homicide cases in Lee County.
“Every city and county in the country has cold homicide cases,” Hughes said, “but very few police agencies have the resources to devote an investigator to concentrate only those older open unsolved homicides.”
Investigator Mark Whitaker comes to the district attorney’s office from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Cold Case Unit. Whitaker brings more than 38 years of local, state and federal law enforcement experience to work in partnership with local police agencies on these cases.
Hughes added that he and Whitaker met during a 15-month investigation into the disappearance of Lori Ann Slesinski.
“My purpose in hiring (Whitaker) is to provide that investigator who can focus his time and effort solely on cold cases with the belief that this will bring us the best chance of obtaining justice for these victims and their families.
“I continue to look for ways this office can evolve and utilize its resources to address the most critical needs of our community. I believe hiring a dedicated cold case investigator is in direct line with that mission.”
For more information, visit www.leecountyda.org.