AUGUSTA -- For about a year, Lara Nomani of the State Attorney General's Office has been dedicated to reviewing and analyzing the state's "cold case" files -- the 87 unsolved homicides that for one reason or another never made it to the courtroom.

It's the first time the office has dedicated a single person to unsolved homicides.

Before hiring Nomani, a former drug prosecutor, the cold cases were generally only updated and reviewed on an ongoing basis by Maine State Police and local detectives.

"I don't want to build up anyone's hopes, but we can say we've looked at the case and done everything we think we can do. We owe that at least to the survivors and the victims," said Deputy Attorney General Bill Stokes, who leads the criminal division and suggested creating the position.

It's a part-time position.

In the past year, Nomani's reviewed about a half dozen cases, spending about two months on each.

The work is slow, and so far, the office hasn't been able to take any of the newly reviewed cases to court.

Stokes will not say which cases Nomani has reviewed and what, if any, advances were made.

Several survivors of unsolved murder victims had a mixed response to the program.

While any effort is welcome, several said they are frustrated and tired of waiting for justice.

"I have been suffering for 13 years," said Windham resident Millie Stubbs, whose then-36-year-old son, William "Billy" Greenwood, was shot to death in Portland in 1995.

Her husband, Linwood, keeps vigil his own way, calling the Portland detective on the case several times a week -- it was daily for the first 10 years -- to ask if there have been any developments.

Sitting in her living room, Millie's hand brushes absently at the gold angel pin she wears every day in her son's memory. In the light fixture over the kitchen table is a dried 13-year-old rose that once lay on her son's casket.

"Before I die, I'd like to know who killed my son," she said. "But I doubt it."

The cases reviewed by the Attorney General's Office are selected by the commanding officers of the three state police criminal investigative divisions and the Portland and Bangor police departments, which investigate their own homicides. All other homicides in the state are investigated by state police.

Nomani reviews notes and evidence in cases, makes sure the information is in one place, and ensures that all possible avenues of investigation, from interviews to lab work, have been fully pursued.

"I ask a lot of questions. It's a lot of digging," said Nomani.

When Nomani and the detective are through reviewing a case, it is presented at meetings that include commanding officers, representatives from the state crime lab and the state Medical Examiner's Office. The group brainstorms and offers suggestions and critiques, then selects the next case for Nomani to review.

While none of the newly reviewed cases has made it to court, that's reality, Stokes said.

"I have much more realistic expectations. If we could solve one once in a while, that would be great," Stokes said. "I could not be in a position of promising families that I can solve their cases, but what I can do is make sure we put in the time to make sure that whatever should be done is now being done."

There have been previous efforts to bolster cold case investigations.

In 1999, a state law was passed to create a "cold case squad" in the state police, but it was never funded.

In 2005, the state crime lab received a $250,000 grant to do additional lab work on unsolved violent crimes, including homicides.

Technically, an unsolved homicide is never "closed." Detectives periodically review the cases looking for a new angle.

"It's oftentimes these cases that detectives become the most passionate about," said Maine State Police Lt. Walt Gryzb, Troop Commander of Troop B.

He has worked with Nomani on several cold cases.

"I think that most detectives would, if they could, spend the majority of their time on these unsolved cases, but the reality is that new cases come in every day," Gryzb said.

Having Nomani focused on the cold cases helps the detectives in the field, he said.

"She is able to pick up these cases and review them with a critical eye and oftentimes a fresh eye," he said. "She's able to offer some new ideas, some new perspective, or some new suggestions on things that can be done that may solve the case."

"This is something that some of us parents have wanted for years. I'd say it's way overdue," said Pamela McLain, whose 16-year-old daughter, Joyce, was killed in East Millinocket in 1980.

McLain is in the midst of a private fundraising effort to exhume her daughter's body for additional DNA testing.

Last year, the state declined her request to exhume the body.

In recent years, there have been unexpected breaks, most notably the Crystal Perry case.

In 2006, a mandatory DNA sample from a felon matched evidence collected in the 1984 rape and murder of the Bridgton woman.

It led to the conviction last year of Michael Hutchinson, who had never even been a suspect, Stokes said.

But Nomani and Stokes are emphatic in urging patience.

"They get mad at us. Who else are they going to get mad at?" Stokes said. "At least with a trial, the families get to hear the evidence and they can see it for themselves. It allows them to move on.

"The unsolveds never get that."