The Murder Sheet: "The Future of Crime Solving"

Guest: Joe Kennedy (Former NCIS Agent, Founder of Carolina Cold Case Consortium)
Hosts: Áine Cain & Kevin Greenlee
Release Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Murder Sheet team hosts former NCIS special agent Joe Kennedy for a sweeping conversation about his multifaceted career, the realities of working cold cases on a global stage, and the promise of AI-driven solutions for criminal investigations. This installment is part of their new recurring segment, The Future of Crime Solving, highlighting emerging technologies, especially those connected to E Sleuth AI, and the law enforcement veterans championing them.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Joe Kennedy’s Early Life and Path Into Law Enforcement

[07:07 - 08:31]

• Joe grew up in High Point, North Carolina, and originally aspired to be a baseball player before studying criminal justice.
• His local, working-class upbringing led him to police work at Albemarle PD before joining NCIS, drawn by its global mission and travel opportunities.

Quote:

"I learned about NCIS, you know, and that mission. Basically, over half of the Agent Corps is overseas or in a foreign country. So that’s what kind of turned my focus on that." (Joe Kennedy, [07:19])

2. Understanding NCIS – Structure & Culture

[08:36 - 10:50]

• Kennedy explains NCIS is a small federal agency with about 1,100 civilian agents worldwide, tasked with all felony investigations for the Navy and Marine Corps.
• Emphasizes its unique culture: operating with a detective’s mindset, often with limited resources in far-flung assignments.

Quote:

"Being an NCIS agent was really more like being a big city detective than it was a federal agent." (Joe Kennedy, [09:39])

3. Undercover & Overseas Work, Including Wartime Deployments

[10:50 - 15:44]

• Joe did extensive undercover narcotics work early on, buying drugs directly from dealers preying on service members.
• Served overseas in numerous countries; notably, he responded to and investigated crimes—even violent murders—within active warzones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Describes the unique nature of “combat crime scenes”—quick evidence collection under sniper threat.

Quotes:

“A lot of times, we’d do a five-minute combat crime scene...if you lingered around, you were going to get injured or hurt or shot.” (Joe Kennedy, [16:33])

4. Career Trajectory and Notable Cases

[20:32 - 25:33]

• Early involvement in high-profile murders, such as the Jacqueline Laird case (wife of a DEA agent), and a cold-case murder in the Virgin Islands.
• Assigned to diverse roles including undercover work, public/private partnership task forces (like Weed and Seed in South Carolina), aircraft carrier deployments, and eventually, the creation and leadership of the first NCIS Cold Case Team.
• Traveled extensively, assisting foreign police in countries like Japan, the Netherlands, and Brazil in setting up cold case squads.

Quote:

“What I realized, nobody had really written down a protocol. And so I took what they were all doing and developed a methodology and a protocol.” (Joe Kennedy, [22:51])

5. International Policing – Common Ground and Differences

[26:03 - 27:39]

• “Cops are cops” everywhere: Kennedy had universally positive experiences collaborating with foreign police, learning unique interviewing and investigative techniques (e.g., Dutch patience in interviews, Japanese thoroughness at crime scenes).

6. The Missy McLaughlin Case – Ultimate Evil and Lessons Learned

[27:50 - 31:00]

• Retells the abduction, brutalization, and murder of Missy McLaughlin in 1992 by a group of service members and civilians.
• Highlights the value of interviews, confessions & psychological understanding in major case resolutions.

Quote:

“There’s only three ways to solve a murder. We have to have physical evidence. We have to have a witness, or we have to get them to confess.” (Joe Kennedy, [30:24])

7. The Power & Challenge of Cold Case Work

[34:01 - 39:36]

• Upon retirement founded the Carolina Cold Case Consortium, a pro bono team of investigators aiding law enforcement at their request.
• Outlines protocols for solving cold cases: the importance of “learning the case,” identifying suspects whose lives unraveled post-crime, patience combined with tenacity, and how most suspects are present in original case files.

Quote:

“In about 95% of cold cases, the suspect’s name is somewhere in the police file during the original investigation.” (Joe Kennedy, [35:30])

8. Why Solving Cold Cases Matters

[40:01 - 41:58]

• Profound personal losses led Kennedy to internalize the value of life and the critical need to bring resolution (not closure) to victims’ families.
• Stresses the emotional impact and necessity of giving families answers.

Quote:

“Life is precious... It’s all about the victims and their families.” (Joe Kennedy, [40:01])

9. The Role of Artificial Intelligence & E Sleuth in Crime Solving

[43:43 - 53:09]

• Introduction to E Sleuth, an AI-driven case management and suggestion tool co-founded by veteran agents and technologists. Unlike other products, it’s built by practitioners for practitioners.
• AI virtual agents analyze specific elements of cases—e.g., blood evidence, shell casings—and cross-reference, connect, and make investigative suggestions rapidly, even bridging connections across multiple offenses.
• AI can drastically cut down time for surveillance/video review.
• Early adoption is promising; projected to rapidly gain traction and revolutionize workflow in law enforcement, especially for overwhelmed or under-resourced departments.

Quotes:

“Imagine all that expertise that’s at the tip of a finger... this system is set up to where it thinks for the detectives.” (Joe Kennedy, [48:23])
“This thing is built like a cop would have built it.” (Joe Kennedy, [50:52])

10. Looking Ahead: Future of Carolina Cold Case Consortium & E Sleuth

[54:16 - 55:34]

• The Consortium is busy with multiple active cases, especially in eastern North Carolina, including assisting in serial offender investigations.
• Predicts E Sleuth’s impact will become quickly, widely apparent once large departments begin to use it publicly.

Quote:

“Once it is applied in, let’s say, a major metropolitan police department... you’re going to just see a lot of cases get solved. And so, you know, that’s going to be the turning point.” (Joe Kennedy, [53:09])

Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• Joe Kennedy on police culture worldwide:

  “Cops are cops... the techniques are very similar regardless of the country you’re in.” ([26:03])

• On the foundational importance of empathy in cold case work:

  “I want to provide empathy... help that family, you know, understand... We love your family. We’re so sorry you were a victim of this. But then we got another family waiting for us.” ([42:29])

• On the emotional costs and purpose of cold case resolution:

  “A lot of people think if we solve a case, the family gets closure. That’s actually not accurate because that person’s not coming back... What we do give them is resolution.” ([40:01])

• On the revolutionary promise of AI (E Sleuth):

  “You don’t have to have an agent that knows everything about bloodstain pattern analysis... this system is set up to where it thinks for the detectives.” ([48:23])

Timed Highlights

• [07:07] - Joe Kennedy’s background and motivation for joining law enforcement
• [10:50] - Undercover narcotics operations and how cases are prosecuted
• [12:46] - Overseas deployments; investigating crimes amidst war
• [16:33] - Processing ‘combat crime scenes’
• [20:32] - Major career milestones and creation of NCIS Cold Case Squad
• [27:50] - Discussion of the Missy McLaughlin case
• [32:09] - Founding and mission of the Carolina Cold Case Consortium
• [35:30] - Protocol and advice for working cold cases
• [43:43] - Explanation and demonstration of E Sleuth AI
• [53:09] - The predicted “wildfire” impact of E Sleuth in law enforcement

Conclusion

This episode offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of investigations and cold case work within and beyond the U.S. military context. Joe Kennedy’s personal journey, analytical expertise, and commitment to mentoring the next generation of detectives underpin a conversation rich with technical know-how and heartfelt purpose. The discussion on emergent tools like E Sleuth AI reveals not just the future of crime solving but the potential for technology to truly make a difference for victims—and the investigators who do not give up searching for truth.

For further resources: See show notes for more on E Sleuth, the Carolina Cold Case Consortium, and ways to learn or get involved.