Families of cold case victims push for Massachusetts bill that could help bring justice

For decades, Lisa Randolph has lived without answers about the death of her brother, who was killed in Roxbury.

"It's just been a long, heartbreaking journey," Randolph said.

That journey began in September 1991, when her brother, Torraine Randolph, was shot and killed near Dudley Street. More than three decades later, she said her family is still waiting for justice.

"35 years too long. Just dealing with the agony of not knowing what happened to my brother, and no answers from the police," Randolph said. "My brother has a daughter and two grandsons that he's never met, and that's kind of heartbreaking on the family."

Randolph is one of many family members pushing for legislation they hope would bring renewed attention to unsolved homicide cases across Massachusetts.

She shares that struggle with Dionne Latrice, whose brother, Damien J. Spencer, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Roxbury in August 2017.

"You don't get the chance to say goodbye to the person who you have known all your life, and so it has been a real challenge trying to process it," Latrice said.

While she says no outcome can undo the loss, she believes finding answers would help.

"I've always sort of felt that there's no real justice for a life loss because you can't replace that with anything. But I think answers would help," Latrice said.

Advocates, alongside the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Dorchester, say tens of thousands of people across Massachusetts are still waiting for answers connected to hundreds of unsolved murders.

They are backing a bill that would create an Office of Unsolved Homicides under the Massachusetts attorney general, establish a specialized statewide task force and cold case investigative teams, and give families the right to petition for a formal review of a loved one's case after three years of being unsolved.

"We hear every day on the news how cold cases are solved, but they are done with intentionality. If you do not create the space to solve these unsolved homicides, they're not going to ever be solved," said State Sen. Liz Miranda (D-Boston)

Miranda, who said she lost her own brother to gun violence a decade ago, sponsored the bill, which is currently stalled in the Senate. Miranda said the effects of unsolved homicides extend beyond victims' families and into entire communities.

"Cities like Brockton and Boston and Lowell and Lawrence, the gateway cities, Springfield, for example, they have a higher number of unsolved murders. So what happens is these people stay in our communities, create more trauma, and then if you don't get justice and healing, that is just generational trauma that grows," Miranda said.

The push comes as the formal legislative session at the Massachusetts State House is scheduled to end Friday. Advocates say they hope the stories of families still searching for answers will persuade lawmakers to act before the deadline.