Justice For All

There are 69 reported Cold Case Murder files still opened in Maine alone since 2010. Ayla’s case brings it to 70 unsolved cases and who knows how many others that haven’t been added to the list yet. There are thousands and thousands of cold cases in the United States. Thousands of families with no answers, no closure, no justice.
When I first started blogging about Ayla’s case I was confident that justice would be served and Ayla would not become another statistic, another unsolved case that went cold. As the years went by and no arrests were made, it became apparent that her case was bound to end up being the blemish on the lead detective’s record, that ugly manilla folder in the bottom of his desk that taunts him each time he reaches for a paper clip. The case classified as Unsolved and Open but no progress had been made for years. The victim’s loved one’s worst nightmare. The killer’s lucky break.
Cold cases do get solved, they don’t necessarily go to the Cold Case Files just to fade into oblivion. Detectives get breaks, fresh eyes sometimes review old cases and see something the original investigators missed. Miracles happen. Many times, the perpetrator is someone on the original suspect list or someone the investigators interviewed. Usually the detectives are pretty certain they know the who, what, when, where and hows but just can’t get the proof they need to convince a jury with certainty. Unfortunately as time goes on, the evidence they need becomes impossible to collect. The killer walks unless someone comes forward who witnessed the event or by some miracle the killer or perpetrator confesses.
There isn’t much we can do to help Ayla now. All evidence has been processed and categorized. All interviews have been conducted. No body has ever been found and the likelihood of that happening now is next to impossible. Maine has too many places to bury secrets that will never be unearthed by merely stumbling upon them. Too many scavengers that will help scatter whatever hasn’t deteriorated over time. We had hoped some fissure in the relationships of those suspected to be involved would fester and one of them would crack but Justin and Courtney’s tumultuous relationship ended with him fathering another child with someone who wasn’t Courtney and a domestic abuse charge and Courtney still remained mum. Elisha, Phoebe, Lance, Derek and Derek’s parents were all scrutinized by the media and bloggers and it still didn’t prompt them to come forward with anything they knew to save their reputations. For Elisha and Derek, the threat of being implicated in a murder or even helping to cover up a murder and possibly losing their children wasn’t enough for them to come forward with any information they might know so what could possibly get them to talk? The pressure they were once feeling has all but abated. They no longer are constantly looking over their shoulders.
For now while we wait for that break we need to get Justice for Ayla maybe we can help other cases that time has left behind if only to remind people that justice has not yet come for these individuals. Because of Ayla we have the platform and the audience and I think she would want us to use it to help others who still need justice.