“Good intelligence” on the island’s 33 unsolved murders over the past 20 years has been provided to police one month on from a series by The Royal Gazette on tackling the island’s cold cases.

Detective Inspector Jason Smith said the Bermuda Police Service do not close the book on unsolved killings.

The average age of the victims is just 27, with the youngest being 18.

In the wake of the articles that ran on August 14, Mr Smith said that “several families of victims have called to express their gratitude for it”.

While he has not yet received “direct calls specific to somebody wanting to come forward with information”, Mr Smith said: “I have got calls from people who have provided good intelligence that is helpful to the police.”

He added: “We are still in this space, and we are going to continue to follow up and get this message out that encourages people to come forward.”

In last month’s interview, Mr Smith said: “These cases are not closed but are in fact wide open — and you hold the key in being able to unlock a lot of doors we can open, and walk through, and bring closure.”

Following up with the Gazette on Friday, Mr Smith said there were a number of unsolved murders that were on the cusp of being brought before the courts.

“We are really at an advanced stage with several of these cases,” he said. “It’s really now just in the hands of the public to say, ‘This is what I saw’.

“That way we can move to a stage where we could prepare a file for review by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“We are really, really close, and we just need that human element, that person putting their hand up to say, ‘This is what I saw’. That makes the difference.”

The series included interviews with loved ones of murder victims left haunted by the murders, underscoring the toll on families.

Mr Smith also spoke of the “unseen victims” in the community left scarred by hearing gunshots, being present for an attack or happening upon the aftermath of a murder.

He said the litany of cases from 2003 to this year had the common thread of needing the assistance of those with details crucial to delivering closure.

“There is obviously the forensics — we have that,” he said.

“There is CCTV for some of these cases that we have reviewed. In some of these cases it’s a situation where if somebody comes forward and assisted us with reviewing CCTV, as an example.”

He added: “If they know the person and can identify them, that’s a critical point.”