The Search for Justice: How a nonprofit is leading the charge to solve Las Vegas cold cases

By Ryan Ketcham

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    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The search for justice is an ongoing process not just for police but also for a local nonprofit: the Vegas Justice League

This nonprofit organization gives police the resources to help solve the longest-standing mysteries in our valley.

Within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, there are more than 1,200 unsolved cold cases still being worked on.

“Here in Las Vegas, we have some of the very best homicide detectives that exist in this country,” said LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill during a Key to the Strip ceremony Wednesday. “Routinely, for over a decade now we are resolving 90% plus of the homicides that occur in our jurisdiction, but even with that today we have 1,267 cold cases that are actively being worked.”

The Vegas Justice League has been helping investigators in their search to find justice for the victims, and now the nonprofit is being recognized for its work.

You may remember last month when we told you about an update to a 1994 cold case — the murder of Melonie White. The Vegas Justice League played a significant hand in identifying a suspect, and now — after 30 years — the case is considered solved.

“We’re very very grateful for the contributions of the Vegas Justice League whose donation for DNA testing by the police allowed the police to crack the case,” said Jason White, the younger brother of Melonie.

“It’s nice to have closure on this,” said Walter White, another brother of Melonie.

The 30-year-old cold case came to a close as Metro identified the suspect as Arthur Lavery, who resided in Las Vegas in 1994. Police said Lavery died in 2021 due to complications from COVID-19.

Metro said the Vegas Justice League played an essential role in the investigation.

“It is their support that has directly led to the closure now of nine cold cases that would have never been solved without their assistance,” Metro Homicide Lieutenant Jason Johansson said.

The nonprofit started in the valley back in 2020, and now is a group of six volunteers who donate money to Metro police to fund DNA reevaluations by new technology at Othram Labs in Texas.

“They do that, the DNA sequencing and get hundreds of thousands of points of reference and then they do forensic genealogy research to be able to identify, up to — I think — they can get the seventh cousin,” Vegas Justice League co-founder Justin Woo said.

Woo told Channel 13 it costs around $7,500 now to pay for the DNA reevaluation of a cold case. Since they started in 2020, the Vegas Justice League has helped solve nine cold cases.

The Vegas Justice League said three cases have already been paid for by community donations. Woo said a $10 donation can go far and help solve another cold case.

Woo and Lydia Ansel both founded the Vegas Justice League, and they said no matter how old the case is, it can be solved.

“Don’t give up hope. The detectives haven’t given up hope, they’re still working these cases they’re waiting for the leads,” Woo said.

“It’s not if it will solve, it’s when it will solve,” Ansel said.

Both Woo and Ansel are married and have lived in the valley for more than a decade.

“It’s great to bring the local community together with law enforcement to kind of work together to make our communities safer,” Woo said.

And for their work in our community, they were honored with a Key to the Las Vegas Strip last week, but their help goes far beyond the valley. Woo and Ansel work with law enforcement agencies all across the nation.

Not only do they work alongside local law enforcement, but the league also pays for the reevaluation of nationwide DNA cases by giving the money to Othram Labs. The lab then will use that money to cover a random cold case around the nation.

This is a similar process to how they work with local law enforcement as well. Woo, Ansel and the other members of the League will speak to the police station, tell them they can fund a certain amount of cases, then the police choose which cold case to use the money for.

To put this into perspective, the Vegas Justice League is currently working on more than 20 cases here in Las Vegas alone, and more than 100 others across the country.

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