The institute is dedicated to serving society by reviewing and analyzing homicide cases which have stood unsolved for a significant period of time. The Institute takes the position that many such cases go unsolved due to overtaxed police investigators, unfortunate timing, or investigative error. The institute wishes to serve the loved ones of homicide victims by bringing closure to their ordeal by case solution

The executive director of the Institute is George Seibel, a former Chicago Police violent crimes detective, and currently is the coordinator of law enforcement education at Morton College .

How One Cold Case Was Solved

A young woman named Janet Benoit was strangled, stabbed multiple times and sexually assaulted in a motel room in Santa Fe , New Mexico in 1983. For the following dozen years the police told the victim’s family that there simply were no leads in the homicide. The family then retained George Seibel to conduct a cold case investigation. As it turned out what was said to have been no leads turned out to have been multiple leads. In January, 2003 Seibel identified David Morton, a Texas inmate as Janet’s killer.

The police had long contended that Morton has been properly eliminated as a suspect; however they reluctantly agreed to visit him in prison. He subsequently confessed to the crime, along with the second homicide in Santa Fe during the same time period. Morton was convicted of both homicides.

The Institute Seeks Your Information

All investigations are only as good as their information sources. At the very moment there are numerous individuals who would recall the suspect in the institute’s current cold case investigation. It is the institute’s policy that all information sources will be kept anonymous upon request. Please share with us what you know and it then becomes our responsibility to use that information in order to sustain eventual charging.

Our Current Cases

 Nancy Pennington was beaten and stomped to death on her 15th birthday in 1972. The case was never solved… Then in March, 2009 the victim’s childhood friend contacted the institute. She stated that the police indicated that they were handicapped by the fact that certain witnesses could not be readily located. The friend also said that two individuals had been considered strong suspects in the aftermath of the crime.

Soon after the institute learned that the witnesses’ names had initially been misspelled. Once the correct names were learned, their whereabouts were learned. The two suspects were identified and located. All of this was turned over to the authorities. In September 2009, an arrest warrant charging murder was issued. As police attempted to arrest the suspect in Florida , he took his own life. Nearly 37 years later the victim’s loved-ones gained closure.

Contact Us

The institute reviews and evaluates more than 50 cases a year. Please contact us with your needs and concerns.

George Seibel, Director of Institute for Cold Case Solution
Morton College

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