ABSTRACT
By their nature, cold cases may require that the investigator delve into his or her most creative processes. Perhaps that might include a little forensic art. The combination of art and science or even art and investigation could sound incongruous. Yet elements of forensic art have proven to be a valuable tool for resolving many long-term unsolved cases. During my years as a forensic artist at the Texas Department of Public Safety and now as a freelancer, requests for my investigative-related art have often been linked to cold cases. Inherently, many forensic art processes are done as a “last resort,” usually after more traditional investigative methods have been unsuccessful. This chapter synopsizes some of the methods to aid investigators that are described more expansively in my textbook Forensic Art and Illustration (Taylor 2001). Suggestions are offered here for ways in which creative use of forensic art might enhance various types of cold case investigations.
