The Columbus Division of Police launched a new video series on social media Wednesday to highlight unsolved murder cases.
The series, called "The Unsolved Cases," will take a look at homicide cases in which police did not arrest a suspect. CPD says the video series will be released on social media platforms twice a month.
The first video sounds like a true crime podcast crossed with a police public service announcement. It plays eerie music over video of Columbus police detective Scott Polgar going over basic facts and police theories of an unsolved murder from 2021.
The victim was 23-year-old Lante Hughes, who was killed in August 2021. His body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a Jeep Wrangler parked at an east Columbus apartment complex.
"Mr. Hughes was well loved by his family. He was not a criminal. But he got himself entangled with a violent group of people and it cost him his life," Polgar said.
A suspect vehicle, a blue Dodge Dart, was identified but never found. Police conducted search warrants on multiple Dodge Darts and interviewed 27 suspects, including one person who was in the car with Hughes.
"He was shot while sitting in his car. Cold blooded. It was unnecessary. And they need to be held accountable for their actions," Polgar said.
The video is bookended by Polgar asking for information from the public. The detective provides contact information at the end of the video after making a plea to viewers to come forward if they have information about Hughes' murder.
"If you're involved in any way, maybe there's a different story that I haven't heard that you can tell me, maybe I had it wrong," Polgar said.
Columbus Police Seargent Joseph Albert told WOSU the department has over 1,000 unsolved cases, some dating back to the 1950s. The series, he said, will mostly focus on cases since 2021.
Albert said detectives are reaching out to the families of victims and consulting them before producing these videos.
"We hope that these short informational videos will create leads for detectives. We want the families of these victims to know that we have not forgotten about your loved one and we want to identify who may be responsible for the deaths," Albert said.
Authorities keep a full list of homicide cases catalogued by year and month on the Columbus Division of Police website.
Statistics released Tuesday said the department currently has 24 active homicide cases.
