Almost two decades after the trail on the murder of a Madison woman went cold and the investigation slowed, a new criminal charge in the case is credited to the success of the Madison Police Department Cold Case Review Team.
In a press conference held Friday, MPD Chief Noble Wray and Capt. Jay Lengfeld, the CCRT leader, said the new investigative team’s renewed review of the 1994 case brought forward new testimony, which lead to the filing of a first degree intentional homicide charge against convict Melvin Parker, 47.
After Dorothy Paige, 34, was found stabbed to death in her Allied Drive home, Lengfeld said a number of factors, including the death of the lead detective on the case and a loss of contact with the key witness, resulted in no new leads in the case for nearly 17 years.
Lengfeld said the new development came after police conducted another round of interviews with individuals involved in the case, which led investigators to pursue Michelle Parker, the suspect’s wife, in Georgia.
Parker was first charged for his role in Paige’s murder in 1998, but the absence of key witnesses lead to the dismissal of the charges.
Among the new testimony gathered by police was information from Michelle Parker, who was considered a key witness in the case before the investigation went to trial. Lengfeld also said detectives on the case were able to submit evidence to the State Crime Laboratory, which was not initially considered during early investigations of the case.
He said CCRT, a body founded in 2010 and funded in part by a grant from the Department of Justice, assesses the “solvability” of cold cases based on a number of factors to ensure no cases are left unresolved.
The Paige case is the first to be reviewed by the investigative team and was selected for its high level of solvability when the new model was applied.
“After the review from the team, it was clear that this should become an active investigation,” he said.
Wray said the team would continue to review and consider reopening cases with high solvability factors and devote personnel to the investigation.
He said while this is the first case applied to this new method, the team will prove invaluable in bringing peace of mind to the families of victims in cold cases and are a proactive step to ensuring justice is served.
“This is critical in terms of bringing justice to victims,” Wray said. “Not only do we have a new manner to approach cold cases, families at home can know it’s not just a lottery of waiting for new tips in an investigation.”
He also said CCRT would not apply the new investigative model to the 2008 murder of University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmerman, saying the case is still considered active, with personnel and resources still devoted to the case and new leads under investigation.
Melvin Parker is currently serving a 16-year sentence in a Rock County prison on convictions of theft and burglary, Lengfeld said.
