As an unsolved case grows older, it often gets colder. That's where the Omaha Police Department's Cold Case Unit comes in. Some of the cases date back to the 1950s while others, like Jose Garcia's murder, are just a few years old.

“I just heard someone screaming,” says a neighbor. The memories of Jose Garcia's murder haven't faded two-and-a-half years later.

"This is my bit of peace,” says his aunt, Stephanie Perez, pointing to a photo of Jose. “Always have faith. I prayed. I still pray, if not justice for him then justice for his two daughters.”

In March 2007, someone stabbed Garcia to death at 24th and C streets. His killer is still at-large. “I miss him every day,” says Perez. “There's no leads. It's a cold case."

Garcia's case is one of many files inside police headquarters in a unit designed to solve them, the Cold Case Unit. Many files are as dead as the victims whose stories they tell. When they are, it's detectives Ken Kanger and Todd Kozelichski's job to bring them back to life.

“These cases are cold for a reason,” says Kozelichki. “They're difficult to solve.”

The three detectives in the unit hunt for new leads on old cases. When they find them they reopen and review a case. It's rare a detective doesn't have any suspects, but they know to convict, a jury will need witnesses.

“The farther back we go the less opportunity we're going to have for witnesses,” says Sgt. Kanger. “Their information isn't going to be as sharp as the newer cases so we prioritize the newer cases looking for suspects, witnesses and physical evidence.”

The two things essential to solving a cold case include new technology, like DNA, and time. Time is a detective's friend. With it, relationships change and suddenly people are calling who initially would not. That's what happened in Jose Garcia's case.

“We got information about a month or so ago about an individual that we needed to speak to,” says Sgt. Kanger. The fresh tip on a cold case brought it back to life.

“We then went and looked into the case and found that we did get a phone call early on in the investigation from somebody that had some specific information,” says Sgt. Kanger.

The old investigation combined with the new information in last month's phone call have detectives looking for the 2007 caller. The problem is that caller left a message, but not a name.

“We would like to see if people would call back to see if we can talk to them about why they feel the way they do about what they were saying,” says Kozelichki.

There's an aunt who says justice depends on it. “If it was you and you know something, call back,” says Perez.

The Cold Case Unit recently solved two high-profile cases, including the murder of Passioneta Prince. Anyone with information regarding Garcia's murder should contact police at 444-7867.