This could be the year that some of the region’s coldest murder cases are resolved. Dickie Anderson Jr., accused of killing two women in the mid-1990s, is scheduled to go on trial in New London Superior Court in February. The families of victims Renee Pellegrino and Michelle Comeau are anxious for answers, while Anderson and his family, who adamantly deny his involvement, are hoping he’ll be exonerated.

The case of Chad Schaffer, who is charged with murdering scientist Eugene Mallove in 2004, may also be on the trial docket soon. Schaffer’s attorney, Bruce A. McIntyre, has hinted he may soon be filing a motion for speedy trial. That would mean the trial would have to begin within 30 days.

In the meantime, a murder case that is relatively “warm” will be tried in Courtroom 3 of the Huntington Street courthouse beginning Tuesday. Ryan C. Wright will be retried for the shooting death of Jamel Campbell at the Ramada Inn on Kings Highway in Groton on Dec. 9, 2008. In June 2011, a jury found Wright guilty of conspiring to murder Campbell but was deadlocked on a separate charge of murder. Campbell was sentenced to 20 years on the conspiracy charge while the murder charge remained on the docket.

Defense attorney Sebastian O. DeSantis and prosecutor Paul J. Narducci have selected a jury for the case and are hoping for a more definitive outcome the second time around.