WSU students breathe new life into cold cases — and pursue answers for families

Toycia Collins (second row, center) works alongside retired detective Paytra Johnson (second row, left) to help WSU students as they try to solve cold cases for local law enforcement.

For years, they've been some of the city's most vexing - and haunting - mysteries: unsolved killings whose answers have eluded even the most dogged detectives. Probes have stalled. Leads have evaporated. And these files for these crimes, often decades old, have been tucked away in varying stages of disarrya, leaving grieving survivors wondering whether justice for dead loved one will ever come.

But inside a classroom at Wayne State University, a group of students is giving at least one of those investigations a fresh look.

Working alongside a veteran Detroit homicide detective, the students sort through investigative reports, organize evidence, construct timelines and digitize records in hopes of uncovering information that could help law enforcement breathe new life into an unsolved case.

(From l to r) Students Ruby Smentowski and Becca Sidaway also work with Jalena Williams, a WSU alumna and doctoral candidate who helps with the lab's administrative and quality-control work.

It's painstaking work that requires patience, attention to detail and an understanding that the documents represent more than an academic exercise. Behind every file is a victim, a family and a mystery that has never been resolved.

""There's a lot of information in these files," said Becca Sidaway, a sophomore double-majoring in criminal justice and psychology. "Some of these files are really thick. There's a lot of leads that have been followed up."

The experience has challenged some of Sidaway's assumptions about unsolved crimes.

"What makes a cold case a cold case is that all of these leads have been exhausted in one sense or another," she said.

Bringing the classroom into the investigation

The work is part of Wayne State's Cold Case Investigations Program,led by criminal justice professor Toycia Collins. The initiative combines classroom instruction with hands-on investigative experience.

Toycia Collins has led the program since its inception in 2025.

Located on Wayne State's Midtown campus, the Cold Case Lab works in collaboration with the Detroit Police Department and Michigan State Police to provide students an opportunity to examine actual investigative materials and help law enforcement organize and reassess unresolved cases.

The program began with an introductory course in 2025 before expanding into actual casework in 2026. Approximately 35 students have participated so far.

The curriculum includes two components. Cold Case I introduces students to investigative methods using publicly available information. Cold Case II takes that instruction further.

"In Cold Case II class, they get into the investigation of an actual case," Collins explained. "Students from Cold Case II actively work in the lab, look at evidence and do whatever they can to help solve that case."

The courses are currently offered as special topics classes, with a proposal under review to establish a permanent course designation. Collins said eligibility requirements include junior or senior standing and a minimum 3.3 GPA.

Bret Scott, director of WSU OPEN, which helped establish the lab, said the lab gives students a "novel" way to apply their knowledge and talent to real-world situations.

Students are currently working on the lab's first case. Their initial responsibility is to organize, digitize and index investigative records, and eventually produce a searchable case file that can be returned to the participating law enforcement agency.

The goal is not necessarily to solve a murder in a semester. It's to give investigators a more accessible body of information - and potentially a fresh lead worth pursuing.

"Students across Wayne State's campus look for ways to apply their knowledge and talent toward real-world situations, and this is certainly a novel one," said Bret Scott, director of WSU OPEN, which helped establish the lab. "As there are very few universities across the nation that offer this opportunity to students, I was happy to assist Professor Collins in working through the contractual aspects and approvals of bringing the Cold Case Investigation Program to full fruition."

WSU OPEN is Wayne State's "open door" - the easiest, fastest way for organizations outside of the university to start accessing the university's top-tier talent, knowledge and resources.

"Assistance with the Cold Case Lab was a natural fit," Scott added.

Learning from experience

Helping students navigate the investigative process is Paytra Johnson, a retired Detroit Police Department homicide detective who joined the program in September as its Cold Case Lab investigative support specialist.

Johnson retired in 2020 after spending approximately a decade conducting homicide investigations and working on a homicide task force, bringing practical experience that can't be replicated in a textbook.

For Johnson, one of the biggest challenges is helping students understand how investigations were conducted before today's technological advances.

"They are used to digital," she said. "They're looking for phone evidence. They're looking for DNA. Years ago, we didn't have all that."

That means teaching students to examine witness statements carefully, recognize inconsistencies and consider evidence in its historical context.

It also means avoiding premature conclusions.

"You cannot have tunnel vision," Johnson said. "You can have feelings, you can have theories, but everybody is a suspect until you eliminate them out."

Johnson hopes the students will identify reasonable leads that investigators can pursue. Just as importantly, she wants them to understand the seriousness of the responsibility they've accepted.

"This is a real person, and we want to do right by them," she said.

More than an academic exercise

For Ruby Smentowski, a Wayne State senior studying criminal justice and forensic investigation, the laboratory offers an opportunity to gain practical experience before pursuing a career in forensic science.

So far, much of her work has involved sorting documents, taking notes and entering information into computers. Although the work can be tedious, Smentowski understands its importance.

" I hope to get experience, especially since I'll be graduating soon," she said. "But for the case, I hope to put something together that wasn't put together before."

Jalena Williams, a Wayne State alumna now pursuing a doctorate in sociology while teaching part-time in criminal justice, helps with the lab's administrative and quality-control work.

A Detroit native, Williams sees the program as an opportunity for students to apply their skills to problems affecting their own community.

"No one wants to feel like their loved one is being forgotten about," she said.

Williams believes the partnership demonstrates how universities can contribute directly to public safety and community well-being.

"We're giving back to our community together, a collaborative effort," she said.

Sidaway, who hopes to pursue social work, sees another important lesson in the experience: The desire to find answers must be balanced with the discipline to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Students learn to consider multiple possibilities rather than becomie fixated on a particular suspect. Although the details of the lab's current investigation remain confidential, the stakes are never far from their minds.

"Being able to possibly bring answers to family is one of the things that draws me specifically into cold cases," Sidaway said.

For Johnson, the collaboration offers something equally valuable. Students bring familiarity with new technology, fresh perspectives and questions that can challenge established assumptions.

She brings decades of investigative experience and an understanding of what it takes to build a case.

Together, they hope to give investigators new tools - and perhaps, someday, give a family the answers it has waited years to receive.