Boston marks first Unsolved Homicide Awareness Day

To commemorate Boston’s first Unsolved Homicide Awareness Day, city and law enforcement officials joined activists for a flag raising ceremony Thursday at City Hall.

The Women Survivors of Homicide Movement, founded in 2014, advocated for the awareness month. The group focuses on education and the needs of women affected by homicide.

Mary Franklin, founder of the group, said the goal is to hold the remembrance on Oct. 15 of every year, which is also the same day as the anniversary of her husband’s unsolved homicide. This year marks 19 years since his homicide, she said.

“This initiative was something our organization put together,” Franklin said. “We are the people who have these unsolved murders. No one is looking at these murders seriously, so we have decided that we are going to take a stand and address these issues.”

At the ceremony, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said he promised to stand by people who have lost someone as a result of an unsolved homicide and to work toward finding answers to their questions.

“Thank you [to the group] for your dedication to keeping their memories alive, and for demanding justice for their deaths,” Walsh said. “We have a police department that is committed to solving all homicides in our neighborhoods, and building a safer Boston. And we will never give up on seeking justice for you and your loved ones.”

Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley also offered remarks.

Franklin said the group plans to host a day of prayer and a vigil in the coming months to continue to garner support and raise awareness.

Since the beginning of the year there have been 17 unsolved homicide cases, said Lt. Detective Darrin Greeley of the BPD Homicide Unit.

“Of these 17, we will solve over the next few months 10 of them,” Greeley wrote in an email. “It takes up to a year for forensic testing, grand jury testimony, etc. We have a 70 [percent] clearance rate for this year now based on [uniform crime reporting.]”

Daniel Medwed, a professor at the Northeastern School of Law, said he hopes the city extends the attention on unsolved homicides to other important criminal justice issues.

“Anything that advances criminal justice for the city is good,” Medwed said. “That includes solving crimes, revamping police policies or looking critically at police policies and making sure people aren’t swept into the system.”

Improving the criminal justice system can potentially help solve some of these cases, Medwed said.

“Accuracy and fairness are very important values in making sure that crimes are investigated and essentially if there is strong evidence to solve old crimes and give closure,” Medwed said.

Several residents said they were not aware about unsolved homicides in Boston, but they appreciate efforts to raise awareness about them.

Mary Sader, 22, of Kenmore, said students are not always aware of issues like crime and safety.

“No, it’s a big city so there’s crime, but we sort of live under a rock as students, we’re buried under our work, so I guess that’s not on our radar sometimes,” she said. “A lot of students are unaware and go out to party, just walk down the street and think ‘I’ll be fine.’”

Sam Shupe, 26, of Jamaica Plain, said he hopes the campaign is moving beyond just awareness.

“It certainly is a good move to have an awareness month,” he said. “It is a complicated thing and you need to do more than just have an awareness month and you need to have resources available and education about what the issues are and go deeper. I need to know what the campaign is about a little more.”

Carolyn Hoffman and Julia Metjian contributed to the reporting of this article.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated Boston celebrated its first Unsolved Homicide Awareness Month, not day. The story now reflects this change.