The Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act of 2021 is a bill that establishes a framework for immediate family members of a victim of murder under federal law to request a review of the victim's case file if the murder was committed more than three years prior, the murder was investigated by a federal law enforcement entity, all probative investigative leads have been exhausted, and no likely perpetrator has been identified.
 

In order to request a review under HVFRA, the following criteria must be met:

a. The death must be as a result of murder, as defined in Title 18 United States Code 1111(a) or Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 118.
 
b. The murder must have occurred after January 1, 1970, but not within three years or less of the date of the HVFRA21 application.
 
c. The murder must have been previously investigated by a federal law enforcement organization, in this instance, the Department of the Army CID and the investigation subsequently declared a “cold case murder”, in which all logical investigative leads have been exhausted and for which no perpetrator has been identified.
 
d. The applicant must be an immediate family member of the murder victim (Parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, sibling, spouse, child, or step-child).
 
e. The murder must not be currently under review through a separate HVFRA application and/or have been reviewed under a previously completed HVFRA application within the past five years.

Click here to submit an HVFRA request for review

Questions? Contact the the Cold Case Unit at usarmy.belvoir.hqda-usacid.mbx.cold-case-unit@army.mil