Jan. 20, 2021 – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah today announced the appointment of a Cold Case Bureau Chief who will focus solely on solving these cases in partnership with law enforcement across the county. DA Rocah said at her inauguration that she would focus office resources on the county’s approximately 142 cold case homicides, because “victims and their families never stop hoping for justice and neither should we.”
DA Rocah also announced appointments and promotions that increase the number of women and people of color in leadership positions to an unprecedented level and place experienced prosecutors in important management roles throughout the DA’s office.
“I told the people of Westchester that we would have dramatically more women and more people of color in management and executive-level positions in this office, and in just two weeks that is exactly what we have done,” Rocah said. “This newly diverse and seasoned management team will bring important perspectives to the office that will help us serve crime victims and our communities more effectively.”
Appointments and promotions in the DA’s office include the following:
- Christine O’Connor is named Chief of the combined Trials and Investigations Division
- Diego Hernandez is named Deputy Chief of the Trials and Investigations Division
- John O’Rourke is named Deputy Chief of the Trials and Investigations Division
- Shameika Mathurin is named Deputy Chief of the Local Court/Grand Jury Division
- Michelle Lopez is named Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division
- Christine Hatfield in named Acting Chief of the Child Abuse Bureau
- Laura Murphy is named Chief of the Cold Case Bureau
- Julia Cornachio is named Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau
- Joyce Miller is named Acting Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau
- Lana Hochheiser is named Chief of the Homicide Bureau
- Perry Perrone is named Chief of the Major Case Bureau
- Wendy Parra is named Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau
- Nadine Nagler is named Chief of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau
- Steve Vandervelden is named Director of the Westchester Intelligence Center
- John Astarita is named Arson Coordinator
- Christine Cervasio is named Branch Chief of Greenburgh
- Toni Ann Gagliardi is named Acting Branch Chief of Mount Vernon
- Jamie Fair is named Deputy Branch Chief of Mount Vernon
- Kerrie Williams is named Branch Chief of New Rochelle
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Media contact:
Dan Weiller, Director of Communications
(914) 995-3586
dweiller@westchesterda.net
