Lane Youmans, a sheriff’s detective in Grays Harbor County, Wa., is a one-man cold case squad, says the Seattle Times. The Times tells the story of how Youmans’s “epiphany” apparently linking several murders thrust him into a seven-year pursuit of David Gerard, who he believes is responsible. The investigation, done almost single-handedly, has linked Gerard to two killings, resulting in a guilty plea in one.
Youmans, who has never accepted even a free cup of coffee on the job and can name every murder victim in the county, doesn’t know why he has persisted in his often lonely, sometimes thankless quest to see Gerard, already behind bars, sentenced to prison for life. Except, Youmans believes it’s his job. “I guess I just think, like a lot of cops do, that we speak for the victims and they deserve justice. Somebody needs to find out who is responsible and hold them accountable. Somebody needs to find the truth.”
Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002793739_detective09m.html