No arrests in the 2 months since Evelyn Weaver’s killing; DA Gunnels assures it’s ‘definitely not a cold case’

(Update: Adding video, comments from DA Steve Gunnels)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County District Attorney Stephen Gunnels says there have been no arrests or major updates to share in the "very active" investigation into Evelyn Weaver's July killing at her northwest Bend home, still assuring it's a top-priority case.

NewsChannel 21 is asking: How long it takes before a case is considered "cold?"

"The Evelyn Weaver case is definitely not a cold case. It's being actively worked," Gunnels told us Wednesday.

Two days after Weaver's body was found in her Hill Street home, her stolen Honda CRV was found on a street in Klamath Falls, prompting a request for video from the public - even Tesla car video. But Bend Police have offered few new details since then.

"I do know that Bend PD and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab are working that case very hard," Gunnels said. "In fact, we've had meetings last week and this week with those agencies."

Gunnels explained the criteria for classifying a case as cold: "Basically, the agency has run out of investigative leads. There is nothing else to be done, except for a change in technology or a change in forensic science that can help assist the investigation, or a tip to come in, and three years have passed since the last activity in the case."

"And that's not where were at with the Evelyn Weaver case," he added.

After Taylor Wyss was shot and killed in downtown Bend last month, federal marshals arrested suspect Caleb Cegers a week later in Tennessee.

Gunnels explained the difference in locating a suspect in that case, compared to the Weaver investigation.

"The Evelyn Weaver case is different in that there were no witnesses to the event, other than the perpetrator and Evelyn Weaver," he said. "And so that takes forensic investigation, and a lot of time to develop leads as to who did it. And that's what police are doing right now."

Bend Police don't have a dedicated "cold case" unit. Deschutes County currently has 12 cold cases, dating back to 1962.

"Those cases regularly come up," Gunnels said. "They are addressed at the agencies that originally took the cases. And police look at those and see whether DNA techniques could help to further those investigations and identify a suspect."

The most recent case to go "cold" in Deschutes County involved a woman's body being found on Highway 20 after she suffered blunt force trauma in March 2014.

There's a list on the Deschutes County Sheriffs Office website of its five cold cases.

Anyone with information on any "cold case" is urged to contact law enforcement.