CHICAGO — Actress, singer, sleuth.
Yes, Selena Gomez can add “detective” to her resume.
The Hollywood star was in Chicago last weekend where she and her mom attended CrimeCon's CrowdSolve – an event focused on the unsolved murder of 17-year-old Kurt Sova, which dates back to 1981 in Newburgh Heights.
“They were perfect detectives who, along with hundreds of others, helped bring peace to the Sova family,” CrimeCon posted on their Instagram page.
CrimeCon explored the unsolved Sova murder to answer one question: “Can hundreds of attendees with varied experiences and backgrounds work alongside the police and our world-class experts to help develop new ideas and leads in a cold case?”
The event featured a handful of guest speakers tied to Sova’s case, including Chief John Majoy of the Newburgh Heights Police Department.
Sova’s story was recently chronicled in a VAULT Studios podcast as featured by 3News. The podcast covers how Sova skipped school on Oct. 23, 1981, "went drinking with friends and ended the day at a house party on Harvard Avenue. He left the party that night and wasn't seen again by his family. Kids found his body five days later in a nearby ravine that his family and friends and police thoroughly searched earlier."
To date, his death remains a mystery.
Back in December, however, the Newburgh Heights Police Department announced a partnership with Tiffin University to continue exploring the case.
So how did CrimeCon investigate Sova’s death? Their event was based on three key factors, listed on their site as follows:
- Immerse: Victimology, deception, detection, DNA and more. It all starts with a crash course from world-class experts.
- Sleuth: Time to dig into the case file. Work through witness statements, timelines and the MMOs (means, motive and opportunity) of persons of interest.
- Solve: Our work gives way to each attendee filling out a “Case Action Report” full of analysis, ideas and next steps that we deliver directly to law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Gomez posted a picture of herself with her mom under the famous “Chicago bean" during her visit.
“Momma and I being tourists,” she posted. “We take great pictures. OH and we went to CrimeCon! Love you Chicago and the bean.”