SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Lindsey served as a Tacoma Police Officer for twenty-one years and has an impressive track record of utilizing her keen investigative instincts to solve violent crimes. During her fourteen years as a detective, she investigated sexual assaults, child abuse, missing persons, and homicides and retired in 2018 as the Tacoma Police Department’s cold case detective.
After retiring, Lindsey joined the Washington State Attorney General’s Office as a Senior Investigator assigned to the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to pursue her passion—using DNA to solve cold cases. In 2019, Lindsey worked with state legislators to pass a new DNA law in Washington known as Jennifer & Michella’s Law.
Lindsey is a member of the National Institute of Justice Cold Case Working Group, the International Homicide Investigators Association, and in 2017, she created the Washington State Cold Case Working Group. She is a former member of the FBI ViCAP National Advisory Board and teaches child abduction response and cold case investigations for the National Criminal Justice Training Center at Fox Valley Technical College. As a subject matter expert, Lindsey has been a speaker at numerous law enforcement conferences around the country, lecturing on cold cases, sex crimes, DNA, and child abduction response.
INTERVIEW
LYNN: What training do police officers go through to become a detective?
LINDSEY: It depends on the agency. When I was promoted to detective in 2003, I took a written test and then had an oral board (panel interview). There was no training curriculum for new detectives at that time, it was basically on the job training. I did have the opportunity to attend a fair bit of outside training over the years, but it was not mandatory. I think most agencies have evolved over time and now have some sort of training program for new detectives.
LYNN: What’s the toughest lesson you learned by working on a murder case?
LINDSEY: It would be hard to pick one. Each case presents its own unique set of challenges. One example would be a cold case that I discussed in my book. The offender was in the case file along with several thousand other men. That case in particular was kind of a wakeup call because the filtering and evaluation criteria I had been using to prioritize suspects did not really apply.
LYNN: What surprised you the most about a case you worked on?
LINDSEY: Referring to the same cold case in my book – I was shocked to find out that the killer had been living in the community, totally under the radar for the 30-plus years since the murder.
LYNN: What is the biggest mistake you made, and how did you deal with it?
LINDSEY: I don’t know if I could identify the biggest mistake. I made lots of mistakes over my career and I tried to learn from them. One overarching theme would be that I learned to confirm everything myself as opposed to taking someone else’s word.
LYNN: Without naming names, what’s the toughest case you were involved with?
LINDSEY: The kidnapping, rape, and murder of a child. That case was the toughest for me.
LYNN: Can you explain your work on DNA and how you got Ted Bundy’s DNA into the system?
LINDSEY: Missing Offender DNA samples in the national DNA database has been my passion for many years. It’s a complex problem that has allowed killers to remain free and crimes to go unsolved for decades. Getting DNA from rapists and killers who died in prison needs to be a priority for anyone interested in solving cold cases. I devoted a chapter of my book to Ted Bundy and how I worked with officials in Florida to get his DNA into the national DNA database in 2011. In 2023, I helped to solve another cold case from 1975 after I got DNA from an executed killer into the DNA database.
LYNN: Is there a difference between working on a murder case and any other type of criminal case? If so, what?
LINDSEY: Murder investigations are unique in so many ways. Murder is deemed by society to be the most serious crime. The stakes are high, and the victim can’t tell you what happened. Typically, crime scene processing and evaluation is much more extensive compared to other crimes. The punishment is typically severe for murder, which makes it that much more important to conduct a thorough investigation and get to the truth.
LYNN: How much of your job did you take home with you, and did it affect your everyday life? If yes, how?
LINDSEY: It’s nearly impossible to leave that type of work at the office. I’m lucky that my husband was also a police officer, so we both knew what to expect and had a mutual understanding of each other’s jobs.
LYNN: Are officers taught how to emotionally handle a murder? Do many of them get counseling?
LINDSEY: No, there’s really no training for that. From what I hear, many police agencies are beginning to integrate mental health resources. Up until recently, I would say talking about feelings was taboo in law enforcement but thankfully, things are slowly changing and there are many more resources for officers and detectives today.
LYNN: If you read murder mysteries, what’s the most common mistake authors make?
LINDSEY: Oversimplifying the investigation (but, hey – a lot of the nitty gritty would be boring to read about).
LYNN: If you had one piece of advice for a mystery author, what would it be?
LINDSEY: Find a retired homicide detective to consult on your books.
LYNN: Now that you’re retired, are you still involved with cold cases at all?
LINDSEY: A little bit. I try to stay engaged with my peers and offer assistance when I can.
LYNN: Your book is written very well. What was that experience like?
LINDSEY: Writing the book was quite a process. From start to publishing took five years. COVID didn’t help, but overall, it was a great learning process for me. After I wrote the first draft, I hired a book coach who helped me get it to a point when I was ready to start looking for an agent. After sending out query letters for a few months, I got my agent and then I began editing the book. We pitched to the big 5 with no success and ultimately, my agent published the book under her own imprint. So far, the book has won two literary awards and was a finalist for book of the year at CrimeCon 2024.
LYNN: Thanks, Lindsey. I appreciate your time and your career. And I wholeheartedly recommend your book.
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