AUGUSTA, Maine — A state police sergeant with 11 years of detective experience will oversee the state’s first cold case squad investigating unsolved homicides, officials said Friday.
Sgt. Jeffrey Love of the state police Major Crimes Unit-North was among three finalists, all sergeants, competing to be the next lieutenant supervisor for Major Crimes Unit-Central and of the squad, said Col. Robert Williams, chief of state police. Love will assume his new job after a promotional ceremony on Monday.
Love has the kind of painstaking, patient and gentle approach to cases and victims’ families that makes him a good fit for the squad, Williams said Friday.
“I think he brings a leadership style that is very methodical, and he has the ability to communicate. He is a good communicator, and he can come across without seeming loud and boisterous like some people can,” Williams said. “We are optimistic. Jeff Love definitely has the demeanor to go into these things.
“He’s also a known quantity to the attorney general’s office, which helps,” Williams added. “Any one of the three could have done the job and done a good job. It is always good to have people of that caliber apply.”
Love was not working on Friday and could not be reached for comment.
The cold case squad’s formation was the subject of a state Legislature’s Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday in response to several complaints from the families of cold case victims.
The families questioned why the squad was under state police auspices rather than those of the Maine attorney general’s office and why it would be managed in conjunction with the MCU. Both are at variance with the original bill creating the squad. They also questioned police sensitivity to their cases, state police abilities to review old cases with fresh eyes, and said state police had failed to communicate with them.
Maine Attorney General Janet Mills responded by announcing the pending hiring of a victims rights advocate to deal directly with cold case families. She told committee members that the squad’s formation was ongoing, that the lieutenant’s dual-management role was the most effective use of the position, and that state police would update their outdated cold case listing.
Love’s appointment was greeted cheerfully by Patrick Day, a volunteer who works with about 60 cold case families as part of administering a website, coldcasesquadme.com, and a Facebook page, Support Cold Case Squad Maine, with 3,497 and 3,463 subscribers, respectively.
“He was my pick and I didn’t even know he was in the running,” said Day, who predicted the appointment would get a warm reception from the families.
Love, Williams said, began work as a detective supervisor handling the disappearance of Ayla Reynolds, which became the state’s most extensive missing-person investigation.
Ayla was 20 months old when she was reported missing from the Waterville home of her father, Justin DiPietro, on Dec. 17, 2011. Police have said they do not think the girl, a likely victim of foul play, will be found alive. That investigation continues.
Ayla’s step-grandfather, Jeff Hanson, said state police picked the right person.
“We had formed our opinion of him before meeting him, and when we met him, he shattered all those preconceived notions. He is definitely personable and will work well with the families,” Hanson said.