Inmates at Yakima County Corrections, Washington, are being given playing deck cards with information on cold cases, in the hope that they may help to solve 52 unsolved crimes across the valley.
The idea was conceived by Yakima Police Department Detective Kevin Cays, who alongside retired officers and judicial officials works in the Cold Case Unit to process homicide cases.
“The most important thing to highlight is the victims in these cases and the families they have left behind. We as detectives work for them, and regardless of their past, want to bring them some sense of justice,” Detective Cays told Newsweek via email.
“If nothing else, to let them know that we have not forgotten them and will continue work on their behalf. Getting this deck of cards out is our way of being proactive in hopes of generating new leads or direction for cases. Many of our most serious cases are solved only with the help of the community. The cards are a reminder that we still need help to bring justice to a number of victims and families.”
Felicia Fonseca/Associated Press
The initiative was announced at a news conference at the Union Gap Police Department, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. It is hoped that inmates may remember details of the cases. Each card shows a picture of the victim, a synopsis of the crime and ways to report information.
Newsweek has reached out to the Yakima Police Department and Yakima County Corrections via email for comment.
Law enforcement agencies joined forces to narrow the cold cases down to a 52-card deck.
The cards feature:
- 26 Yakima Police Department cases
- 17 Yakima County Sheriff’s Office cases
- Three Sunnyside Police Department cases
- Three Union Gap Police Department Cases
- Three FBI investigations
The cases go as far back as 1977, to as recent as November 2022.
At the news conference, Union Gap Police Chief Greg Cobb said that “those people talk to other people.”
“Maybe somebody sees this deck of cards and they’re in a different circumstance now than they used to be. Maybe they’re willing to come forward with some information now that they’ve been reminded of this case where they previously they wouldn’t come forward and cooperate with the police,” he said.
Union Gap Police has three homicide cases: the deaths of Roger Harrington, 66, and Tyler Aalbu, 32, in an intentionally set house fire on March 28, 2021, and Paul Evans, 43, who died of a gunshot on October 23, 2019.
Each card deck includes a joker card with contact information for Yakima County Crime Stoppers, which funded the project.
Reports that lead to an arrest can lead to a reward of $1,000. This reward is available even if tips have been submitted anonymously.
Mark Peterson, president of the Yakima County Crime Stoppers, said at the news conference that “Crime Stoppers represent all of the people out there, the people who want to see law enforcement do week.”
“We are anonymous. Not everyone wants to call into the police and say this is my name,” he added.
There are currently no plans to have the cards released to the public, but the possibility has not been ruled out.
In 2023, violent crime in Washington decreased by 5.5 per cent, with 31,050 offenses reported, compared with 32,853 the previous year.
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