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Families, police press Chesapeake for leads on unsolved homicides during council meeting
Summary
Relatives of murder victims and detectives used the council meeting to urge the public to call the anonymous crime line with tips on cold homicides dating from 1966 through the 2010s; detectives described evidence and asked residents to report even small details.
Several family members and Chesapeake detectives used the city's public comment and department presentation time on Sept. 9 to appeal for help solving cold homicide cases and to describe how tips might aid investigations.
"We are urging those people to come forward and let us know what happened," said Detective Robert (identified in the briefing as working with the Cold Case Homicide Unit), summarizing multiple unsolved homicides investigators continue to review. He outlined examples including a March 23, 2015 double homicide in the 1900 block of Battery Park Road (victims Laurel Sanchez and Denise Perdue) where neighborhood video shows a red vehicle and a shadowy figure, and a June 7, 2005 triple homicide on Marcus Street (three victims aged 23).
Relatives of victims described emotional and practical impacts. A family member of a 2015 victim urged: "If you know somebody, kill somebody, how can you go day in and day out and not?" and asked anyone with information to contact police. (Comment remains an appeal for information, delivered in a public comment.)
Detectives described investigative steps citizens can take: call the anonymous crime line, submit tips by text or online, or contact the detective bureau directly. Detective staff emphasized the value of small details that can connect evidence, video timestamps and vehicle descriptions, noting that preserved evidence and advances in DNA and digital forensics can sometimes produce hits years after the crime.
The police presentation also described practical search and evidence‑handling challenges for older cases (paper files, degraded packaging, missing witnesses) and encouraged citizens with any information — even if it seems minor — to contact investigators.
What’s next: Chesapeake police asked anyone with information to call the anonymous crime line or contact the detective bureau; detectives said tips could be resubmitted and may prompt re‑examination of preserved evidence.
