ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) — Amidst the growing popularity of true crime podcasts, the Elgin Police Department has distinguished itself by using the format for more than just solving old cases.
They are providing a place for family of the forgotten to feel seen.
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Elgin police detectives are once again harnessing the power of the past to bring justice to present, born out of passion for police work.
“They’re not just some cases sitting on a shelf, they’re men and women who were murdered or who are missing,” Det. Andrew Houghton said.
Last year, the department’s cold case unit introduced the podcast “Somebody Knows Something” to delve into the long-missing case of Karen Schepers, leading to the poignant discovery of her remains and vehicle in the Fox River.
Now Detective Houghton is back at it once again, with a new partner in podcast and justice, Detective Christopher Hall.
“I hope I can at least provide one family, like Karen’s family, with the closure they received,” shared Det. Hall. “That matters to me more than any number of arrests… That’s what’s truly important.”
The duo is reopening cold cases and transforming archives into broadcasts, starting season two with a refreshed approach. They are re-examining several unsolved cases from the 1970s, which includes five homicides and a missing person report.
“We’re focused on sharing the victim’s story,” stated Houghton. “It’s not about the criminal. It’s not about sensationalizing what happened to them.”
The journey so far has taken them to different towns, tracking down old yearbooks, digging into archives.
“You’re basically going back into old newspaper articles because that property doesn’t exist,” Houghton said.
The detectives are bringing listeners on a journey through time.
“Just trying to put us and the listeners into the front row seat of what it might have been like,” Hall said.
The cold case crusaders give a taste of walking through an old crime scene, trying to find a new point of view.
The new season is once again centered on the stories of the forgotten, connecting with victim’s families who still have not and can’t forget.
“Their families and friends deserve to know these details if we can provide them, and we owe it to them,” Houghton continued. “Even if we don’t succeed, our effort is necessary for them.”
Season two, episode one of “Somebody Knows Something” already launched this week.
In the next episode, the detectives are taking listeners back to an unsolved murder, but now with new and never-before-heard evidence.
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