Jen Spears is a nationally recognized homicide and cold case investigator with more than 26 years of law enforcement experience dedicated to homicide, violent crime, missing persons, and cold case investigations. Throughout her career, she has investigated and assisted with hundreds of homicide and cold case investigations, collaborating with local, state, federal, and international agencies to help resolve some of the nation’s most complex and challenging cases.
Jen began her law enforcement career in 1999 with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Central Florida. While attending the law enforcement academy, she was selected to serve in a long-term undercover narcotics assignment in which she posed as a high school student to support criminal investigations. Over the course of her career, she served in a variety of investigative assignments, with the majority of her service focused on criminal investigations, violent crime, homicide, missing persons, and cold case investigations. In May 2026, she retired from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) as a Special Agent assigned to the Violent Crimes Squad, where she investigated homicides and cold cases while working collaboratively with agencies across the country to advance complex investigations.
Jen currently serves as a Cold Case Investigator with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), where she continues to investigate unsolved homicides and other complex cold case investigations. She also serves as the Manager of Client Advocacy & Training for Resolve Forensics, where she leads law enforcement outreach, education, and client advocacy efforts. Working closely with investigators, prosecutors, medical examiners, and forensic professionals, she helps agencies understand how forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) and advanced forensic sequencing can be integrated into traditional investigative strategies to solve violent crimes, identify unknown human remains, resolve missing persons cases, and generate new investigative leads. Drawing upon decades of investigative experience, Jen specializes in bridging the gap between cutting-edge forensic science and real-world criminal investigations, helping agencies confidently apply emerging technologies to their most difficult cases.
In addition to her investigative responsibilities, Jen is a nationally recognized instructor in homicide and cold case investigations and has trained thousands of law enforcement professionals throughout the United States. Her instruction emphasizes practical investigative strategies, case management, multidisciplinary collaboration, and the effective integration of emerging forensic technologies into complex criminal investigations.
Jen serves as President of the Southeastern Homicide Investigators Association (SEHIA), is a member of the Florida Sheriffs Association Cold Case Advisory Commission, and currently serves on the National Advisory Board for the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP). Through these leadership roles, she continues to advocate for collaboration, education, and the advancement of investigative best practices within the law enforcement community.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and earned a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy from the University of New Haven’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences. Throughout her career, Jen has received numerous awards and commendations for her contributions to homicide and cold case investigations. She remains committed to advancing the profession through education, collaboration, innovation, and the responsible application of emerging forensic technologies to help bring justice, accountability, and answers to victims, their families, and the communities they serve.
