Earlier this month, WMU’s Cold Case Program announced it had assisted in solving the 1983 murder of Sherri Jo Elliot, a 16-year old who lived in Charlotte and Flint.
Elliot was found in a drainage ditch in Blumfield Township in Saginaw County on November 20, 1983. She had been sexually assaulted and shot four times.
The Michigan State Police reopened the case several times over the years. In 2023, MSP turned to the Cold Case Program seeking help investigating a potential suspect it had identified.
Using DNA collected from Elliot's body, MSP performed genome sequencing — a test that maps specific markers of a person's DNA. The genome sequencing led to investigators begin focusing on a suspect: Roni Collins of Grand Blanc.
Ivan Schellino is a sophomore criminal justice and psychology major who works with the cold case program. He was tasked with researching Collins.
"It felt like we were responsible to solve this and it just felt astonishing to see all your hard work pay off and helping the family through their pain," Schellino said.
Schellino did a "deep dive" on Collins, combing his social media presence and gathering as much information as possible about his life.
Collins died by suicide in January before police could collect a voluntary DNA sample from him. But DNA collected during his autopsy was matched to DNA collected from Elliot's body. Investigators say the match points to Collins as the perpetrator.
Jacob Gregory is a senior studying criminal justice and psychology. He worked on the case, making a map of Collins' whereabouts during the time of Elliot’s murder.
“It feels like we had had something lifted off of our shoulders, like a big weight lifted off of our shoulders. But at the same time as student investigators, our job is to do this. Our responsibility is to, you know, solve these cases," Gregory said.
Training future investigators
At the cold case program, students are supervised by program director Ashlyn Kuersten, a sociology professor. They work in a secured room and undergo clearance checks before they're able to take on cases.
Kuersten said students work directly with MSP officers and are trained to act as investigative professionals — including when it comes to keeping case details under wraps.
"I was most proud of my students that they knew [about the resolution ] before the public knew and they had to sit on this information. You know, they're trained in confidentiality, but this is a real-world experience of practicing confidentiality, which I think is great for them in their future careers," Kuersten said.
The program is meant to prepare students for future careers in criminal justice, and MSP has said they use the program to recruit officers.
Gregory, who's set to graduate the first week of May, plans to go to law school after taking a gap year.
He and Schellino said the experience of working on the case was emotional — especially when it came to hearing from Elliot's family. At one point, Kuersten read a victim statement letter written by Elliot's family to the students.
"Just being in the room as the victim's statement was read by Dr. K, just seeing the raw emotion of everybody in the room — very quiet, you can hear a pin drop," Gregory said. "As a senior graduating this semester... it was just more of a cherry on top for me. Just ending the semester, solving a cold case, or assisting in solving a cold case. It was just a wonderful feeling."
Remembering Sherri Jo Elliot
Inside the cold case program work room in WMU's Wood Hall, a bulletin board is filled with photos of the victims whose cases students are working on.
Sherri Jo Elliot was among those photos — a smiling, blond teen pictured against a dark backdrop. According to people who knew her, she was shy and intelligent. She worked as a babysitter and had recently moved from her mother's home in Charlotte to Flint, where she lived with her father.
"We work really hard with with the students to make sure that the cases they work — they're not just a case number," Kuersten said. "Her name was Sherri Jo and here's who she was. We have a picture of her in our work area so that we remember the human part of this. I think it makes the work all the more meaningful when you realize that this is an actual human being with family members that were crushed by what happened to her."
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to get help.
