UTSKRIFT 🔗
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,360
In January 2006, 20-year-old Derek Comrie from Hartford, Connecticut went to a basketball game.
2
00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:12,880
While he was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend's car, a stranger approached and shot him.
3
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:20,080
On June 7, 2014, 19-year-old Ariel Morgan was attending a block party in Berkeley County,
4
00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:25,840
South Carolina to celebrate the end of the school year. There, she too was shot to death and her
5
00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:32,400
killer has never been caught. On September 12, 2019, Ernie Ortiz was found dead outside of the
6
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:37,360
restaurant he owned in Garden City, Kansas. Investigators believe that he had been shot
7
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:42,320
to death during a robbery as he was closing his shop for the night. These are just a couple
8
00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:48,560
examples of cold case homicides that investigators work to solve every day in the United States.
9
00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:55,360
It doesn't even include missing persons, fugitives, or other criminal activities, but federal, state,
10
00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:01,520
and local crime agencies have found a fascinating way to expand their resources to get a little
11
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:06,880
closer to closing their cases. Welcome everyone. You're listening to episode 5,
12
00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:13,840
Cold Case Playing Cards on Dying to be Found, The Dash. Hi everyone, this is Deb from Dying to
13
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,360
be Found. Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing discussions
14
00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:25,920
on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind. Recordings are not intended for young
15
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:31,920
or sensitive audiences due to the content nature of this podcast. Listener discretion is strongly
16
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:48,960
advised. Hi everyone, this is Deb, your host from the True Crime Podcast,
17
00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:56,000
Dying to be Found. Welcome to D2BF's mini episode series called The Dash, where twice a month I'll
18
00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:02,880
bring you bonus solo episodes or talk to fellow podcasters or true crime enthusiasts. Thank you
19
00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:09,760
so much for everyone who's emailed me, shared, or commented on The Dash. Honestly, this is going
20
00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:15,680
so much better than I ever imagined, but please continue letting me know what you think of our D2BF
21
00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:21,520
Dash series. You can do this by going to our show notes to see how you can get in touch. Otherwise,
22
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:27,440
look for us on all the socials and drop a comment. Also, if you have a short true crime story you
23
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:33,120
want to hear, let me know and I'll get working on it right away. You can always let me know now
24
00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:38,960
how we're doing by clicking on that follow button. Be sure to rate, review, and consider buying us a
25
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,320
coffee so we can continue to bring quality episodes. If you're a true crime podcaster or
26
00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:49,440
work in the true crime industry and want to be featured on an episode of The Dash, send me your
27
00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:55,520
email and I'll send you information on how to get on one of our future episodes. So here's my question
28
00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:02,880
for you today. How often do you go to the casino to play a little blackjack or poker or sit around
29
00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:09,200
with friends playing cards? What kind of deck do you use? Did you know that at least 18 states in
30
00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:16,080
the US use a special deck of cards to send out information on cold cases? These decks are called
31
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:23,360
cold case playing cards and each deck consists of 52 unsolved crime cases that authorities need
32
00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:29,200
your help in solving. Many of the cases highlighted on the cards range from unsolved homicides to
33
00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,080
missing persons. Although there are hundreds of cards not highlighted in the playing cards
34
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:40,320
distributed throughout the 18 states, investigators still feel this program is a gateway to gaining
35
00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:46,400
leads and closing some of their files. Believe it or not, playing cards featuring criminal cases
36
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:52,880
date all the way back to the Civil War. This tactic continued through World War II where US military
37
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:58,800
officials created special cards to distribute amongst the troops to 1. give them a pastime
38
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:05,440
activity and 2. to help them memorize foreign enemies. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Most
39
00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:11,680
recently, the US military issued a newer set of playing cards featuring high-profile criminals
40
00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:18,800
such as Saddam Hussein and people directly linked to him. By 2007, Special Agent Tommy Ray,
41
00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:24,560
based out of Florida, came up with the concept of playing cards that would feature unsolved cases.
42
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:30,000
All this came about when he was sitting in a meeting brainstorming on active and cold cases
43
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,600
from around the state. Ray believed it would be beneficial to manufacture playing cards that could
44
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:42,160
be distributed to inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections system. Apparently, the agency Tommy
45
00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:47,840
Ray worked for liked the idea and worked quickly with district attorneys throughout the state to
46
00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:53,920
identify which cold cases would be featured on a deck of cards. The agency felt the best avenue to
47
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:59,360
distribute the cards would be throughout
Load full transcript
Florida's correction facilities. Within three months of
48
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,720
distributing those cards to inmates, three cold cases were solved. I know that doesn't sound like
49
00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:11,600
a lot folks, but you need to start somewhere and to me this is an incredible number. Once word got
50
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,840
around on some of Florida's successes in cold case playing card distribution, other states began to
51
00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:24,160
follow suit. As I mentioned, 18 states actively participate in stocking these cards in their prison
52
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:30,640
systems. As of 2022, cold case playing cards are no longer limited to the United States because
53
00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:37,040
Australia has also jumped on board to adopt this program and is sponsored by Crime Stoppers, an
54
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:43,120
anonymous tip line that anyone can contact to provide information on crimes throughout the world.
55
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:49,760
Not-for-profit organizations are also beginning to pop up to help distribute playing cards. In 2009,
56
00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:55,360
Ryan Backman lost his father to a violent crime, which compelled him to start Project Cold Case,
57
00:05:55,360 --> 00:06:01,120
a not-for-profit company that helps families of unsolved homicides and suspicious deaths also in
58
00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,920
the state of Florida. There are many different ways these unsolved case playing cards are
59
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:11,920
distributed. As I mentioned, military outlets still use these cards to print details of war
60
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:19,120
criminals and other identified enemies, which began back in 2003 when the world was on the hunt
61
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:25,120
for Saddam Hussein and members of his regime. According to Forensic Magazine, Rhode Island
62
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:32,240
distributed 5,000 decks throughout their Department of Corrections system in December 2018. By July
63
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:39,200
2019, the Utah Cold Case Coalition also created cards to distribute within their Department of
64
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:44,640
Corrections system. Project Cold Case, the not-for-profit organization started by Ryan
65
00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:51,200
Backman, distributes these cards to poker rooms, tattoo parlors, and craft breweries throughout
66
00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:57,360
Florida to spread awareness. This is just a small list of agencies that actively put cards out to
67
00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:03,760
gain exposure on unsolved crimes. Ultimately, cold case playing cards are considered a success
68
00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,720
amongst the states who are participating in this program. Authorities continue to remain
69
00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:14,000
hopeful that distributing, and I'll call these true crime playing cards, will continue to help
70
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:20,080
bring cold cases to a close. The cases chosen to be highlighted range from unsolved mysteries to
71
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:26,320
violent crimes, missing or exploited persons, and fugitive alerts. Investigators from Connecticut
72
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:33,200
say it is a win-win because, quote, it's like interviewing 93,000 inmates for new leads and
73
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:39,600
it's worked wonders, unquote. The reason a lot of these playing cards are getting solved is pretty
74
00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:45,600
simple. Inmates like to brag or swap stories as to why they're in their current position and in
75
00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:51,120
prison in the first place. Of course, other inmates think that they can get something in return,
76
00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:56,480
like some added incentives for calling in tips to the free phone number listed on the deck.
77
00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:02,560
Some of the incentives that I found but are by no means a sure thing include better food or
78
00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:08,880
even access to education or rehab programs. Okay, folks, am I wrong here? I don't consider
79
00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:15,040
either of these an obstacle. First of all, human rights, but how many times have you heard of
80
00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:20,160
inmates receiving a degree while behind bars? All right, I'm going to add my opinion here for
81
00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:25,680
just a split second. If you know me well enough, you know I'm an advocate for educating people.
82
00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:31,280
I feel that there is a better chance of rehabilitation when you allow those education
83
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:37,280
programs when people are incarcerated. Otherwise, I'm thinking the only obstacle that prisons are
84
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:43,360
facing are budgets. Regardless, incentives are somewhat of a given here. Inmates are more
85
00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:48,320
susceptible to come forward with information, especially if they know that there's something
86
00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:54,800
in it for them because in the whole scheme of things, we as humans are selfish and always want
87
00:08:54,800 --> 00:09:00,240
to know what's in it for us. Am I right? The list of positive feedback in these cold case playing
88
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:05,440
cards definitely outweigh the negatives, but here's one promising little tidbit on the
89
00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:10,880
effectiveness of installing a cold case playing card program. Connecticut prisons have received
90
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:20,160
over 770 tips since 2010, which has led to further investigating about 7% of their cases. Of course,
91
00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:26,080
this number is relatively low, but you've got to start somewhere and I'm saying solving even one
92
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:32,720
case is a big win. There are some downsides to these cards. You might be wondering why only 18
93
00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:38,800
out of 50 states actively support this program. Even though the pros do outweigh the cons,
94
00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:44,000
there are still
concerns that violence can increase, especially when we're talking about
95
00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:49,920
prison systems here. Some jurisdictions say that although these playing card programs are a great
96
00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:57,280
concept, they do contain some negative setbacks. For example, the Butler County system out of Ohio
97
00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:02,800
actually removed these cards from their penal system due to security issues inside the jail.
98
00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:09,360
Why, you ask? Because criminals are behind bars for a reason. They don't follow society's rules.
99
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,800
And in the instance of Butler County jails, inmates were using the playing cards to block
100
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:20,880
the locking mechanisms to their cells. Have you seen the last several episodes of Oranges of the
101
00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:26,720
New Black? And do you remember what happened when inmates take over the facility? So for obvious
102
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:33,120
reasons, Ohio jails put the program on hold until they could come up with a better way to use cold
103
00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:38,880
case playing cards to their advantage. Other concerns about these cold case playing cards
104
00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,080
is how the information provided by inmates proves to be more unreliable than helpful.
105
00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:50,560
Delaware officials cite that nearly 50% of the informants testimony proves to be false,
106
00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:56,000
mostly due to those incentives I discussed earlier. And I'm not sure there are more
107
00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:01,440
incentive programs than just better food or self-improvement programs. Heck, I've learned
108
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:07,200
that if you just give someone a lollipop, they're happy and will do anything for that freebie.
109
00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:12,880
Secondly, we know snitches get stitches and many prison systems are dealing with just that,
110
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,800
which adds to the fact that prisoners and jail officials don't need inmates to police themselves.
111
00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,080
Like I mentioned, cold case playing cards are not limited to the United States.
112
00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:29,120
Shout out to my friends and listeners in Australia because you have these too.
113
00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:36,400
New South Wales jail systems introduced cards in 2022 after friends and family members of victims
114
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:42,640
tried for over five years to get these programs off the ground. As far as any other countries
115
00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:48,640
who have this program in place, again, I really couldn't find much information on this. I do
116
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:54,320
believe there are some international versions for fugitives or crimes overseas, but there's
117
00:11:54,320 --> 00:12:00,160
just not a global effort yet to distribute this type of card around the world. Let me end by
118
00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:06,800
giving you a couple of incidents where cold case playing cards have been a success. In 2007,
119
00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:13,040
a friendly game of go fish amongst Florida prisoners produced tips that led to the arrest of
120
00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:20,560
one of their cases on that deck. As of today, Connecticut alone has solved over 20 cases using
121
00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:26,400
these cards. One of those cases is that of Derek Comrie. One of the cases I mentioned at the
122
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:32,320
beginning of this episode, Derek was the young man who had attended that basketball game and was
123
00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:37,280
shot by the stranger while he was sitting in the passenger side of his friend's car. An inmate who
124
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:42,800
was serving time in the Connecticut prison system came forward to provide information on Derek's
125
00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:49,120
case after a card game with fellow inmates. This tipster had purchased a deck of cold case cards
126
00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:55,680
from the commissary, say that 10 times fast, and saw Derek's case on the deck. He remembered hearing
127
00:12:55,680 --> 00:13:02,800
a fellow inmate bragging about shooting Derek back in 2006 and contacted that tipster line provided
128
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:10,000
on the card. This case was solved and Derek's killer received a 37-year sentence. Well, that's
129
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:15,920
the story of cold case playing cards. I tried to find a list of all the states that have these
130
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:21,440
cards in their correction systems, but couldn't find it all in one spot. I would suggest that you
131
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:26,960
Google this to see if your state has the cold case playing card program and write to your state
132
00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:32,320
and local officials if it doesn't. You can refer them to this episode of Dying to be Found, The
133
00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:38,720
Dash, to find out what they need to know about how effective this program is and what things they
134
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:44,960
need to avoid. If you have any agencies interested in featuring cold cases on playing cards, please
135
00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:55,280
have them contact Project Cold Case at 904-525-8080 or email info at projectcoldcase.org. You can
136
00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:00,800
contact the Federal Department of Corrections to inquire how cases can be featured on cards from
137
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:07,200
your own state. If you're wondering where you can find a deck of cold case playing cards, Amazon or
138
00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:13,680
eBay are your best bets. Distribution is limited mainly to the prison systems. Unless you live in
139
00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:19,840
Florida, then you can stop by your local brewery or tattoo parlor. Alright you all, let me know
140
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:25,120
your thoughts on this episode. If you have a storyline you'd like to specifically hear on the
141
00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:31,600
Dash, let me know that too. Don't forget, if you want to hear less of me and more collabs, shoot me
142
00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:37,360
your email and I'll get you on that Dash lineup. Until next time, be sure to click on the links in
143
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:44,240
our show notes to find out more about this podcast and check us out every Wednesday on the Dash and
144
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:50,160
every Thursday when I get together with my family members. Talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to
145
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:56,880
Dying to be Found, True Crime Podcast and our Dash mini series. Every week we'll bring you a variety
146
00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:02,640
of True Crime episodes, a little dash of hope, plus special bonus episodes with some really cool
147
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:08,000
guests. Before we go, we'd love for you to share this podcast with your friends and give us a
148
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:15,760
five-star review. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest at Dying to be Found
149
00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:22,720
or visit our website at DyingToBeFound.com spelled just like you see in our logo. Better yet, click
150
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:28,480
on our Linktree account found in the show notes where you'll find all the information in one place.
151
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:34,640
Be sure to Dash in every Wednesday for our mini episodes, plus every Thursday when I get together
152
00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:59,200
with some of my family members. Thanks again everyone and we'll talk to you soon.