Baton Rouge Has Soaring Rate Of Cold Murders

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The number of unsolved homicides in East Baton Rouge Parish has been soaring over the past five years with a typical pattern:

slayings that left behind little evidence and few cooperating witnesses.

The Advocate reports that the clearance rate for homicides in the parish has dropped by more than a third in recent years — from 77 percent in 2006 to 41 percent in 2010.

The heads of the homicide divisions for the Baton Rouge Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office say they are seeing more cases marked by limited evidence and uncooperative witnesses.