Monterey County turns to private donations to help solve dozens of cold-case homicides

FOR DECADES, Monterey County has been haunted by more than 600 unsolved homicides — each one a silent wound for families still waiting for answers, and a stark reminder of how easily justice can slip away.

Now, amid the loss of public funding and growing concern over stalled investigations, a group of local law enforcement veterans and advocates is stepping in to try to finish the work that governments could not.