Renowned Cold Case Investigator and Bestselling Author To Speak at UNH

The event is free and open to the public

WEST HAVEN - The University of New Haven Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences will hold a public lecture and book signing featuring cold case investigator Richard Walter and bestselling author Michael Capuzzo, the university said in a statement.

The event begins at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, at Dodds Theatre, UNH Main Campus.

The two will discuss Capuzzo’s recently released bestseller, “The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases,” the statement said.

Capuzzo and Walter will highlight the Vidocq Society and how it came into existence, the statement said.

"The Vidocq Society is a secretive cold case investigation organization named for Eugene Francois Vidocq, the ground-breaking 19th-century French detective," the statement said.

Eighty-two of the world’s greatest detectives, one for each year in Vidocq’s life, meet monthly in Philadelphia to solve cold murders over lunch, the statement said.

"Vidocq Society members come from 17 states and 11 foreign countries including the FBI, Interpol, Scotland Yard, N.Y.P.D., the U.S. Navy and the Egyptian Army. They are medical examiners, blood-spatter experts, anti-terrorism investigators, chemists, anthropologists and experts in every imaginable forensic field who work pro bono to catch cold-case killers and bring justice to grieving families."

To view a preview of coverage of “The Murder Room” that will be aired on ABC’s “20/20 on September, 21, 2010, visit here.

The event is sponsored by the UNH Criminal Justice Department and is free and open to the public. Books may be purchased for signing and will be available at the UNH bookstore, the statement said.

"The Murder Room” highlights some of the Vidocq Society’s most famous cases, including “The Case of the Prodigal Son,” the story of how an investigator’s psychological acumen solved the murder of a millionaire’s son who had run away to Texas and was brutally murdered by a manipulative girlfriend; “The Fast Food Killer,” the story of a grisly slaughter at a Roy Rogers restaurant after closing time; and “The Boy in the Box,” a 50-year-old murder that made national headlines and still haunts Philadelphia to this day, the statement said. For more information, contact UNH Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Katherine Brown at 203-931-2957 or kbrown@newhaven.edu.