GALVESTON, Texas—When investigators closed the case on the beating death of Karim Ubaldo last week, they went back to the stack of unsolved homicide cases that have been gathering on their desks since last year.

The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office has had more active homicide investigations between July 2007 and now than investigators can remember.

“This is way above average,” spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said. “Going back 10, 20 years, we’ve never had anything like this before.”

While some cases, Ubaldo’s for one, were solved quickly, others have stretched on for months without new clues, evidence or answers.

Sheriff’s deputies have investigated nine violent killings this year and made arrests in four.

The other five unsolved homicides are left to six detectives who must also try to solve other crimes committed in unincorporated Galveston County.

The detectives aren’t overwhelmed, but the load can push some harder-to-solve cases back in the line, Tuttoilmondo said.

Sometimes, it’s just a few missing clues that slow detectives down. Other cases never seem to get off the ground. Clues don’t come in, witnesses don’t come forward and the case can sit still for years.

“We can go from absolutely nothing to case solved in 24 hours,” Tuttoilmondo said. “Other cases, we have absolutely nothing, and we have absolutely nothing five years later.”

Earlier this month, Ronald Martin, 57, was gunned down during a robbery of the Mardi Gras game room in Bacliff.

Several people were in the game room during the shooting. Detectives are asking those witnesses to come forward.

“Sometimes witnesses don’t want to come forward — don’t want to get involved because they feel there’s some risk of retaliation,” Tuttoilmondo said. “It’s a whole host of reasons. Finding those unknown people is the No. 1 thing right now.”

On June 6, 24-year-old Justin Wingo was found shot to death in a ditch near a Dickinson motel. Wingo had bought drugs at the motel before, his brother said. Tuttoilmondo said there are some potential suspects for Wingo’s death, but detectives are waiting on forensic tests before going forward in the case.

On May 21, Crystal Beach resident Sam Brown was found dead inside his severely fire damaged home.

An autopsy found Brown had been stabbed and cut with a knife before the house caught fire.

The sheriff’s office has sent four arson investigators to the scene; all found the fire was accidental.

“We still have so many questions on that one,” Tuttoilmondo said. “It’s not so simple as a gunshot wound. How did those injuries get there? That’s still our main question.”

Tuttoilmondo said detectives plan to start re-interviewing people they talked before autopsy results confirmed Brown died from cuts and blows to his neck and not the fire.

Another case from the last year that has eluded deputies is that of A.W. Lacy, 74, found beaten to death in his Bacliff home Oct. 4.

Tuttoilmondo said detectives have a suspect in his case but don’t have enough evidence to file charges.

“We kind of think this one is one someone has talked about,” he said. “Someone said something. This is one of those ones that if we could sit down and talk to whoever may have heard something, it might jar some things open for us.”

Deputies also still are investigating the brutal rape and murder of Bridgette Gearen, a single mother from Orange who was found on Crystal Beach near Monkhouse Road on July 15, 2007. Lt. Tommy Hansen said they have two potential suspects, but much about her killing is still unknown.

Tuttoilmondo said detectives juggling the cases have tried to investigate them thoroughly.

“We are very methodical and very careful on how we handle cases,” he said. “We want to put cases together the right way the first time, because we don’t always get a second chance.”