CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Clarksville-Montgomery County Crime Stoppers announced Thursday they are increasing the cash reward to $5,000 for information that helps solve local homicide cold cases.

On Nov. 15, the Clarksville-Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Board voted unanimously to increase the cash reward amount for anonymous tips leading to an arrest or conviction related to unsolved homicides in the area prior to 2018 from $1,000 to $5,000.

The increase is effective immediately, and all tipsters are kept anonymous through Crime Stoppers’ secure tips system.

Deanna McLaughlin, chairman of the Crime Stoppers organization, hosted a news conference Thursday alongside law enforcement officials in charge of investigating cold cases.

“The family members would like some closure. They would like the people responsible for the death of their family member brought to justice, and we need the community to step forward and provide that information,” McLaughlin said.

Capt. Liane Wilson, commander of the Clarksville Police Department’s Special Operations Division, also addressed the conference with homicide investigators Sgt. Nicholas Newman and Detective Keenan Carlton.

“The Clarksville Police Department currently has 29 cases that we have classified as cold. Twenty-five of those cases are unsolved homicides,” Wilson said, adding that the other four are missing persons cases that have been open for over a year.

In the last two years, Wilson said the Special Operations Unit has successfully solved seven cases that were previously considered cold.

These cases include the homicides of William and Ina Campbell in 2010, Fran Caratini in 2014, Ray Nelson in 2o17 and Taren Lyles in 2018.

“One of the best feelings is calling in a mother or a father to the office, and they’ve been waiting for answers and you can tell them that there’s a resolution in their family members’ case,” Carlton said at the conference.

Also present were officials from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, including Lt. Darrell Allison, Criminal Investigation Commander, said MSCO and Sgt. Bryan DeRose.

“Currently we have three (cold case homicides), one of them is on the website, we plan on adding another one here shortly,” DeRose said before thanking Crime Stoppers for increasing the reward.

There are other cases McLaughlin said she would be adding to the organization’s website Thursday evening.

There are three ways to provide Crime Stoppers tips about unsolved cases. You can call the Clarksville-Montgomery County Crime Stoppers at 931-645-TIPS, or go to www.p3tips.com, and leave a web tip. You can also download the P3 Tips iOS or Android mobile app that not only allows for an anonymous two-way conversation, but also allows the tipster to check the status of the investigation.

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