Local non-profit organization continues to fight for justice

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will soon be adding a major reinforcement to its cold case division.

The department is looking for a forensic genealogist to help identify murder suspects using DNA.

In the meantime, a local nonprofit organization continues to provide assistance.

In unsolved murder cases, the trail goes cold and the years go by.

Although detectives never give up on cases, about four years ago a private citizen wondered if he could do something financially.

From this idea, the Vegas Justice League was born.

The league says it is dealing with some of the most difficult cases to solve.

“We just wanted to do something good for the community,” says Justin Woo of the Vegas Justice League.

Justin Woo says it was an idea that sparked a movement.

He says the league sponsored a case and eventually solved two unsolved murders in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas tech entrepreneur and his wife Lydia Ansel are part of the Vegas Justice League.

It is an organization that funds advanced DNA testing in unsolved murder cases at the Othram Laboratory in Texas.

Lydia says, “In Las Vegas, I think we solved 8 cases, and then we expanded nationwide so we currently have over 100 cases, I would say 33 are solved and several are still pending.”

Last year, the couple was present when Las Vegas police announced the closure of two unsolved cases involving the same suspect.

DNA linked Eddie George Snowden Jr. to the murders of Pearl Wilson Ingram and Lori Ann Perera.

Teresa Board, Ingram's sister, says, “There are many things they could have donated their money to, and I thank God for people like them, because without them we would never have known.”

Like many suspects identified years later, Snowden was already deceased and there will be no criminal prosecution for the murders of Ingram and Perera.

But the Justice League helps to find answers.

Justin Woo says: “The Stephanie Isaacson case continues to stand out.”

This includes the family of 14-year-old Stephanie Isaacson.

Isaacson disappeared in June 1989 on his way to Eldorado High School.

Her body was later found on an abandoned property.

The teenager was sexually abused and strangled.

DNA was collected but no match was found.

Lydia Ansel says: “They had previously tried to send the case to two other labs, but each time you send it to a lab, the DNA is used up, so there was so little left that the problem was considered unsolvable.”

She continues: “We begged for the case anyway and the lab broke the world record for the smallest amount of DNA used and solved the case.”

Justin says, “I think it was the equivalent of 15 human cells’ DNA.”

Darren Roy Marchant is the man linked to her death.

He committed suicide in 1995.

Michael Vogen of Othram Labs says DNA technology is evolving.

Vogen says: “It is very exciting that we are now accepting cases that we would have rejected just six months ago because we feel more confident that we can develop a really powerful and valuable profile.”

However, DNA alone cannot solve every crime.

Once a connection is found, it takes months of detective work, interviewing witnesses and searching for corroborating evidence.

Lt. Jason Johnson of the LVMPD says, “The partnership with the Vegas Justice League is incredibly important.

“I can't remember a single time they canceled on us. They are an important part of our cold case mission. And without them we wouldn't have been as successful as we are now,” says Johansson.

This work is becoming increasingly expensive.

Each case referred to Othram Inc. currently costs approximately $7,500.

Members of the Vegas Justice League brought in their own money.

However, since they are a 501c nonprofit organization, they also accept donations.

If you would like to help with a donation, click here.