‘This is not a game’: Crime Stoppers introduce cold case initiative
FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - A new initiative by Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County will use a deck of cards to help solve crimes in the community.
The Cold Case Playing Cards project was created with a grant from Season of Justice, a non-profit that helps support investigative agencies with DNA testing and advocating for cold cases.
“These cold case playing cards are more than a collection of the unsolved crimes; they are powerful memorials to the individuals who have been lost to violence,” said Julie Lopez, the director of Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County.
The cards are the first of their kind in Michigan, and detectives in Genesee County are hoping to use them to breathe new life into unsolved cases.
“She was a beautiful girl. She was a granddaughter, a daughter, a sister, and a soon-to-be mother that I didn’t know about until we lost her,” said a family member of Mariah Henderson.
Crime Stoppers said each deck includes 43 murders, six double murders, and three missing person cases from Flint and Genesee County. Each card includes a photo and case information. Ways to submit anonymous tips are also included.
“When it asks date deceased, I have to say, ‘I don’t know.’ It asks if I know if she’s alive, and I have to say, ‘I don’t know.’ So, I would like to at least know,” said a family member of Teresa Towne-Woolard.
Pablo Lopez, the father-in-law of Crime Stoppers director Julie Lopez, is one of the victims featured on a card.
“He used to collect the cards at casinos. He used to go to casinos and get the cards that had the holes punched in them so he could distribute them to veterans homes and then he would give them to our family,” Lopez said. “Now he’s on a playing card. It’s really crazy.”
The decks of cards will be distributed in the Genesee County Jail as well as in a care package for newly released inmates with the intention of creating new leads for detectives to investigate.
“With these cards looking outside, just a different way of having people communicate with one another. We will get information from them, and this is a great opportunity for us to move forward,” said Flint Police Detective David Dwyer.
Law enforcement is hoping to use the cards to deal more than just an arrest but to find justice.
“She done whatever she could do for anybody, and she met lots of people that said they cared for her and loved her. And so, she was a terrific person. Her family miss her. I miss her. And I just want to say we love her,” said a family member of Mariah Henderson.
“The faces and stories on these cards represent a fraction of the many cases that remain unsolved in our community. We want everyone to know, this is not a game; it’s a strategic method in our effort to help solve cases,” said Lopez. “Every piece of information, no matter how minor it may seem, could be the missing puzzle piece that brings answers these families desperately need.”
To anonymously report a tip on any case, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL.
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