How to Look Up Old Murders: Archives, Courts, and Police Files

To look up old murders, work from the outside in: pin down the victim’s name, date, and location using newspaper archives, then request the underlying police reports, court files, and autopsy records from the specific local, state, or federal agency that handled the case. Nearly all of these records are technically public, but they’re scattered across county clerks, state courts, police departments, medical examiners, and federal databases. No single search returns everything.

Get Your Details Straight First

Every method downstream works better when you start with specifics. The most useful pieces of information are the victim’s full legal name, the approximate date of the crime, and the city or county where it happened. A case number from a court filing or police report speeds things up enormously, but it isn’t required. Agencies can usually locate old files with just a name and a rough date range.

The FBI, for example, asks for any identifying details that will help locate a file, including the subject’s full name, aliases, date of birth, and a description of the incident.¹ County and state agencies work the same way. The more you narrow it down, the less likely a clerk returns a “no records found” response.

If you’re starting from almost nothing, old newspaper coverage is the fastest way to build a foundation. Contemporary articles usually name the detectives, the courtroom, and sometimes the case number itself.

Start With Newspaper Archives

For most people researching old homicides, digitized newspapers are the fastest and most revealing first stop. There’s no formal request, often no fee, and papers preserve the kind of narrative detail that condensed police files lack: witness accounts, neighborhood context, trial testimony, and sentencing outcomes.

The Library of Congress runs Chronicling America, a free collection of historical American newspaper pages published through 1963 from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.² It’s searchable by keyword, date range, and state. For crimes that old, it’s often the single best resource.

For mid-20th century and later murders, paid services like Newspapers.com and NewspaperArchive cover ground Chronicling America doesn’t. Many public libraries offer free access through their digital portals, so check your library card before paying out of pocket. Local libraries also house microfilm of papers that were never digitized, and a librarian who knows the collection can point you to the right reels quickly.

Court Records: State, Federal, and Very Old Files

Once you know the defendant’s name and roughly when the case was tried, the court file is the next layer.

State and County Courts

Every state runs its own system, so this part is uneven. Many states now offer online case search portals through their court administration websites, where you can pull dockets, charges, and sometimes scanned documents by defendant name. Depth varies wildly. Some let you download full filings from decades ago; others show only a bare docket entry. When the online system falls short, contact the county clerk of court directly. They hold the physical files.

PACER for Federal Cases

If the murder led to a federal prosecution, the case file is likely on PACER, the federal judiciary’s electronic records system. PACER contains over a billion documents and charges $0.10 per page.³ You can search by party name, case number, or date range.

The National Archives for Old Federal Cases

Federal criminal case files don’t stay at the courthouse forever. Generally, federal court records more than 15 years old have been transferred from the individual court to the National Archives for permanent preservation. For a federal murder case from the early or mid-20th century, NARA is likely where the file ended up. You can search their catalog online and order reproductions by mail, or examine originals in person at a regional facility. For federal records under 15 years old, contact the federal court that handled the case or search PACER.⁴ State court retention schedules vary; some states transfer old case files to a state archives, others keep them at the county level indefinitely.

Requesting the Police and Investigative File

When newspapers and court dockets don’t tell you enough, the investigative file is next. This is where a critical distinction matters: the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records laws are completely separate systems, and most murder records fall under state law.

State and Local Requests

The federal FOIA does not apply to state or local governments.⁵ Since almost all homicides are investigated by local police and prosecuted in state courts, you’ll usually file under your state’s open records or sunshine law. Every state has one. Details differ, but the framework is similar: government records are presumed public, and agencies must produce them unless a specific exemption applies.

Send police reports to the law enforcement agency that investigated. Send court records requests to the county clerk of court. Ask for the agency’s public records request form and fill it in with whatever identifying details you have. Many agencies accept requests by email or through online portals. If you mail your request, certified mail gives you a delivery receipt that documents when the agency received it, which matters if you later need to enforce a response deadline.

Federal FOIA Requests

If the murder involved a federal investigation, such as a case worked by the FBI or a U.S. Attorney’s office, federal FOIA is the right tool. Any person can request records from any federal executive branch agency.⁵ Agencies must respond within 20 working days, though that deadline is for a determination on whether to release records, not delivery of the documents themselves.⁶ Complex requests routinely take longer.

For FBI files, submit through the eFOIA portal or by mail to the Records Management Division with as much identifying information as you can provide.¹ Before filing anything, check the FBI’s online reading room, The Vault. Thousands of files have already been processed and posted, and yours may be one of them.

Autopsy Reports and Death Records

Autopsy reports confirm the cause and manner of death, which is especially useful when you’re trying to determine whether a death was actually ruled a homicide. Access is more restricted than for police reports or court files, and rules vary considerably by state. A minority of states classify autopsy reports as public records, and even those states may withhold photographs or specific forensic details. Most states limit access to family members, law enforcement, prosecutors, insurers with a direct interest, and parties involved in related litigation.

If you’re a family member, you generally have priority access. The next-of-kin order for requesting autopsy records usually starts with the surviving spouse, then adult children, parents, and siblings. Non-family researchers may need a court order or need to show a sufficient interest in the case. Contact the medical examiner’s office in the county where the death occurred to learn its specific disclosure rules before filing.

Death certificates themselves are held by state vital records offices, and access rules vary. Some states release them to the public after a waiting period; others restrict access to family and authorized parties. Genealogy databases can also confirm whether a death was classified as a homicide. The Social Security Administration maintains a Death Master File, though the publicly available version excludes state-reported death records and is limited to information the SSA received directly.⁷

Cold Cases and Unidentified Persons

If you know a murder occurred but don’t have enough identifying information to file a formal request, specialized databases can help. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, known as NamUs, is a federal repository operated by the Department of Justice that matches missing persons with unidentified remains across the country.⁸ The Doe Network, a volunteer-run nonprofit, maintains a separate international database of cold cases involving unidentified and missing persons.⁹ Both combine official data with community-contributed details.

Expect Fees, and Expect to Wait

Records requests are rarely free. State and local duplication fees for photocopies typically run from a few cents to about fifty cents per page, and some agencies charge a separate search fee for staff time locating records in non-digitized archives.

Court transcripts are the expensive category. Official transcript fees at the state level generally run between $2.50 and $7.00 per page, so a full murder trial transcript can easily cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. If you only need specific portions of testimony, name the exact dates or witnesses to keep costs down.

Processing times for historical records vary widely. Federal FOIA has the 20-day statutory response window, but backlogs at agencies like the FBI can push actual delivery to months. State and local agencies set their own timelines, and older records stored off-site or on deteriorating media take longer to pull. Many agencies issue a confirmation with a tracking number so you can check status later.¹⁰

Why Some Records Stay Closed

Not every record in a homicide file will be released, and some files may be withheld entirely.

Open Investigations

The biggest barrier in cold case research is this: if a murder was never solved, the case may still be classified as an open investigation. Under federal FOIA, Exemption 7 lets agencies withhold law enforcement records when disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, reveal confidential sources, or endanger someone’s safety.⁶ State open records laws contain similar exemptions. There’s no expiration on these. A murder from 1965 that was never closed is treated the same as one from last year if the agency considers the investigation ongoing.

Privacy Redactions

Even when a file is released, expect redactions. Agencies routinely black out Social Security numbers, private medical information, and details that could identify confidential informants. FOIA Exemption 7(C) protects against disclosures that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, which can include information about surviving family members, witnesses, and victims mentioned in law enforcement records.⁶ The Privacy Act of 1974 adds another layer for records maintained on living individuals by federal agencies, though it does not cover deceased persons.¹¹

Juvenile Records

Records involving minors, whether as victims or suspects, carry the strictest protections. Juvenile justice statutes in most states seal these records from public view.¹² Accessing sealed juvenile files typically requires a court order, and courts grant access only in narrow circumstances. If the person was later tried as an adult, adult court records are usually reachable through normal channels, but the juvenile-stage records remain sealed.

If Your Request Is Denied

A denial is not the end. Under federal FOIA, you have at least 90 days after an adverse determination to file an administrative appeal with the agency head.⁶ The agency then has another 20 working days to decide the appeal. Many denials get overturned or partially reversed at this stage, particularly when the initial denial applied an exemption too broadly. Your appeal should explain specifically why the exemption doesn’t fit or why the public interest in disclosure outweighs the agency’s reason for withholding.

State open records laws have their own appeal mechanisms. Some states route appeals through a designated ombudsman or attorney general’s office; others send you directly to court. Deadlines and procedures vary, so check your state’s statute. If you’re denied at every administrative level, you can sue in federal court for FOIA denials or in state court for state records denials. At that point, the agency bears the burden of proving the exemption applies.

1
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting FBI Records
2
Library of Congress. About the Collection – Chronicling America
3
PACER. Public Access to Court Electronic Records
4
National Archives. National Archives Court Records
5
FOIA.gov. Freedom of Information Act – Frequently Asked Questions
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 552 – Public Information
7
Social Security Administration. Requesting SSA’s Death Information
8
National Institute of Justice. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System – NamUs
9
Doe Network. International Center for Missing and Unidentified Persons
10
United States Department of Justice. Assigning Tracking Numbers and Providing Status Information for Requests
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 552a – Records Maintained on Individuals
12
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Disclosure Control in the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement