About the Rosie Tapia case: Why it’s important to talk about cold cases
Aug 15, 2025, 11:00 AM | Updated: 4:06 pm
Rosie Tapia, 6 years old, was murdered in 1995.
SALT LAKE CITY — Rosie Tapia was found murdered in 1995.
She had been abducted, sexually assaulted and left for dead in the Jordan River Canal. She was six years old.
August 13 marked 30 years since her murder. To date, no killer has been charged, and there are no new leads.
But the case has not been forgotten. Utah Cold Case Coalition‘s Karra Porter told Midday with Maria Shilaos why it’s important to keep these stories alive.
Why cold cases are important
Keeping the conversation going about these cases is more than for the sake of the victim’s families.
Porter said that if there’s an expectation that a case can be solved, even after several decades, it could deter others from committing similar crimes.
“Every time somebody reads about a cold case that has now been solved or a murder that seemed unsolvable but they’ve now figured it out, I believe it’s a deterrent to further crime,” Porter said.
Investigators also never know when new information or evidence will arise.
Related: Many families lack closure with cold case backlog across US
Why the case of Rosie Tapia?
Porter said the whole reason the Utah Cold Case Coalition exists is because of Rosie Tapia’s case.
“Her family reached out eight years ago and just to me and and said, ‘Is there anything you can do to help on this case?’ …And I got together with the private investigator that was helping them and then we got together with a retired journalist. And we formed the coalition because of the Rosie Topia case,” Porter said.
Since forming they have closed a couple of cold cases and reopened over a dozen more due to information the group has gathered.
Now they have hundreds of vetted volunteers that are able to help people all over the country through the coalition.
But Porter said the Rosie Tapia case will always be dear to their hearts.
What’s next in the Rosie Tapia case?
In Rosie’s case, the spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police Department said it’s still an active investigation, but there are no new leads right now.
Porter said their group is pleased to see that Salt Lake City PD is putting a new team on the case, and they appear to be taking it seriously.
Porter says if anyone knows anything about Rosie Topia’s case or any other cold case to call the police, or to use the cold case coalitions website: coldcasehelp.com.
