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I began writing about cold cases five years ago, on February 23, 2021. On that wintry day, I published a story that called the prevailing theory about Molly Bish’s killer into question. I went on to publish more stories that delved into Bish’s case, as well as other unsolved murders.

I plan to post those original articles here and to continue to examine unsolved cases. I intend to visit former crime scenes, unearth old files and talk to people who have knowledge about the cases. I work full-time as an English professor at a community college, so these visits may vary according to the academic calendar.

Nonetheless, Cold Case Files hopes to do more than simply rehash known facts.

Before I visited Comins Pond, where Molly Bish worked as a lifeguard, I had no reason to doubt the theory that the killer was most likely a man in a white car. Now I do.

Before I gained access to police records about the Paula Welden case, I had no reason to question the idea that Paula simply wandered off into the “Bennington Triangle” and froze to death. Now I do.

My ultimate goal is to bring justice to the victims of these terrible crimes. With every passing year, their stories fade a little more. Eventually, the world moves on.

It’s been 25 years since Molly disappeared and almost 80 since Paula left her dorm room to hike the Long Trail. In 1755, four-year-old Lucy Keyes followed her sisters to Lake Wachusett and seemingly vanished into thin air.

By and by all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what it is down there. The rest is weather. Not the breath of the disremembered and unaccounted for, but wind in the eaves, or spring ice thawing too quickly. Just weather.

-Toni Morrison

That was nearly three centuries ago and Lucy’s case remains unsolved. We may never find out what happened—in fact, that’s by far the most likely scenario. But at least I can tell her story here.

In addition to cold case analyses, I plan to publish occasional reviews of mysteries, thrillers, films and true-crime books. I’m what you might call a “voracious reader” and Substack seems like a good place to share my thoughts.

Finally, I would like this newsletter to become a place where people can share comments, helpful information and theories about well-known cases. There are plenty of sites that already fill that niche and I’m immensely grateful for them. If not for those sites, I would not have started writing about cold cases. If all goes well, I hope this site will become a small part of that landscape. In keeping with that mission, I plan to keep as much content as possible free. Comments will remain open to the public as well.

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