Thirteen-year-old Deanna Michelle Merryfield hasn’t been seen since around 3:30 a.m. on July 22, 1990, in Killeen, Texas. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, an unknown perpetrator stabbed 26-year-old Anthony Guillory to death on a pre-dawn morning in 1986. 

Seven years after 27-year-old Arash Nikoonejad was murdered at the Bella Vista Village mobile home park off NW 39th Avenue in Gainesville, Nikoonejad’s family is still searching to find out who did it.  

In 2010, 96-year-old Lila Leach died from injuries after someone broke into her Newberry home and beat her. But no one knows who. 

These are just a few of the unsolved cold and missing persons cases published on The Cold Cases, a multi-media Substack publication aiming to advocate for and help solve and create a library of unresolved cases from across the U.S., particularly any that might be less known. 

Founded in February 2025 by Gainesville resident Dustin Terry, The Cold Cases publishes resources like articles written by criminal experts, interviews with relatives of cold case and missing person victims and provides a place to submit case tips.  

As the publication’s editor-in-chief, Terry said he’s able to bring the difficult experiences of his past together with passions and skills he’s cultivated through his career for investigations, writing and justice.  

With over 1,000 paid subscribers, the publication has grown to reach over 20,000 readers across the world every month, with hopes of becoming a full-scale local investigative media outlet in the future. 

“The problem I see is that Hollywood and all these places, they typically talk about the same 50 cases over and over again, right?” Terry said. “So, what I want to do is create advocacy and awareness around these lesser-known cases because, you know, these are families that are hurting and nobody’s listening to them.” 

Terry said coming from a long line of crime and growing up in domestic violence has made him well acquainted with trauma, like he sees in cold cases. 

His grandfather was a member of the Little Dixie Mafia, and his grandfather’s uncle was a notorious bank robber in Oklahoma during the 1920s. 

“Growing up, I’d hear stories about my grandpa, like they stole a truckload of John Deere tractors in the 1990s and stuff,” Terry said. “I try not to think about the past too much.” 

After a few years as an aviation mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, the 40-year-old worked as a cyberthreat investigator, local newspaper reporter and earned a master’s degree in mental health to be a child welfare specialist in Oklahoma. 

He moved to North Central Florida in 2008 and worked as an addiction counselor in Ocala and a mental health screener at Gainesville’s Meridian Behavioral Health. Now with a little Uber driving on the side, running The Cold Cases is a full-time mission.  

“I just wanted to do something that had meaning, you know, because I’ve seen how justice can be subverted,” Terry said. 

Terry defined a cold case as any case that hasn’t been solved in one or two years. According to data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, almost 40% of homicides went unsolved in 2024. 

Terry said he most often sees cases unsolved because police messed up evidence, or there weren’t any witnesses at the scene of the crime.  

The Cold Cases originally started as a YouTube channel before transitioning to a Substack publication.

When Terry gets a tip through the website, he vets their credibility before passing them on to law enforcement. Then, he contacts the family to schedule an interview.  

Terry said he’s conducted over 20 interviews with cold case and criminology experts so far, as well as people directly involved in active cases.  

In March, The Cold Cases added the Therapist’s Corner story series, showcasing articles from behavioral analyst and investigative writer Mozelle Martin as a regular contributor. The Criminologist’s Brief is another new series written by criminologist and cybersecurity specialist Dawn McCarty. 

“I’ve never been into true crime as entertainment,” Terry said. “I thought I had a real opportunity here to help people, you know, every time I see a family and they want me to publish an article about them, it’s amazing.” 

After raising enough money over the next few years through paid subscribers to the Substack, Terry wants to grow The Cold Cases into a comprehensive investigative media organization. That would look like having documentary filmmakers, podcasts and in-house investigators to help continue reporting and solving unresolved cases.  

Until then, The Cold Cases continues raising awareness for them one publication at a time. 

“There’s tons of families out there who are hurting, and they need to be heard,” Terry said.