WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) - More than six years after his mother-in-law was stabbed to death in a murder that remains unsolved, Utah Jazz executive Greg Miller is forming a new foundation with his wife Heidi to train police officers, they announced Tuesday.
Detectives can get help with individual cold cases during a three-day symposium showcasing latest police investigative techniques. If it’s successful, the Millers plan to hold more similar events.
The couple hopes that some of those techniques will help police hunt down whoever killed Sherry Black, 64, in November 2010.
“We have been frustrated that here we are going on 6-and-a-half years and we still don’t know who killed Sherry,” Greg Miller said, though they don’t fault police who they say have done everything they can. “Everybody is more interested in just trying to solve the case than point fingers.”
The family is still offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Meanwhile, they’re hoping that by helping police learn new tools they can help bring closure to some of the other families left without answers after cases go cold.
The idea came about after Heidi Miller read a book about the Vidocq Society, a group of experts that works on unsolved cases. She met founding member Richard D. Walter, a forensic psychologist, and the plan for the foundation grew from there.
“You try and bring some good from the bad. This really helped me. It’s a good way to focus my pain,” said Heidi Miller, who choked up with emotion during a news conference announcing the foundation.
Training police is an unusual goal for a private foundation, but the Millers said they want to make the education more affordable and plan to cover the cost for departments that cannot afford the $200 fee. The symposium isn’t open to the general public, but law enforcement officers can register at crimeassessment.org.
Her mother was found dead in her South Salt Lake used-book shop, B&W Billiards and Books, on Nov. 30, 2010.
South Salt Lake police have said that blood found at the scene indicates the killer was a man who may have been hurt during the slaying.
They also found a unique Armani Exchange-brand belt there, though neither piece of evidence has led to an arrest. The killer left the cash in the register and Black was still wearing her jewelry when she was found.
Police are still actively investigating the case, Greg Miller said.
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