If you have any information about this case, you can call Crimestoppers and stay anonymous at (702) 385-5555.
Las Vegas Metro Police's homicide unit has almost 1,000 unsolved cases dating back as far as 1943, which they call cold cases. Some of the detectives and sergeants, who worked those homicides before retiring from the force, are returning to solve the mysteries they left behind.
It's like a fortress that's chilling, strong and standing in the middle of the valley. Locked inside in a cramped little room lie the clues to Las Vegas' unsolved murders. This is where Metro's homicide cases run cold.
"Anything more than 10 years we're looking at as a cold case," said Reserve Officer Kevin Manning of Metro Police.
Manning, who's a retired sergeant, says it's his job to try and solve all of them, which he says is approximately 450.
"I worked homicide for six years and had a squad of six detectives," Manning said.
However, it was a case in the fall of 1997 that sucked him back in. Police say that an elderly woman murdered in her own garage was one of the most gruesome scenes they've seen.
"She was brutally murdered, stabbed upwards to 100 times," Manning said. Police say 60-year-old Vi Odell was taking groceries out of her car when she was attacked.
"We believe either somebody was waiting for her when she got home or somebody saw her coming in and then followed her through the door," Manning explained.
Odell had no known enemies and Manning says she was popular among dog enthusiasts across the valley. She often visited a dog park where she used to train her dogs. Her friends have since placed a plaque at the park in memory of her spirit.
"We have never really come up with a viable suspect on that case and its one that probably will haunt me forever," Manning said.
The problem is no one in the quiet Northeast Las Vegas neighborhood heard or saw anything the day Odell was murdered. Police found no fingerprints at the scene and it didn't appear anything was stolen from the home. All they are working from now is the one thing the murderer left behind.
"We thought there was some suspect blood that had been transferred throughout the house," Manning said. For a while Manning thought Odell's next-door neighbor was the killer. Crime lab techs were able to draw a DNA sample from the suspect's blood trail.
"They were able to get a full male profile off of those samples unfortunately the person I was given the information on didn't match," Manning explained.
Manning says it's a hard pill to swallow for him, but Odell's homicide like so many other cold cases may never be solved.
"Some of them just eat away at you more than others," Manning said. "Generally the answers lie in the pages, and if you can find that thread that ties all those things together, you know we should be able to come to a successful resolution."
Cases such as Odell's murder have Metro Police working on new and more innovative ways to reach out to the public for any possible tips.
Right now, police are working on a new cold case website that will eventually profile most of their unsolved homicides.
That website should be up and running in a couple of weeks and police are hoping publicizing these cases will lead to fresh tips.
Click here to email reporter Ashanti Blaize
If you have any information about this case, you can call Crimestoppers and stay anonymous at (702) 385-5555.
