Deck of cards deals hope to mother about daughter's unsolved murder

by Sara Sheffield, KY3 News

Deck of cards deals hope to mother about daughter's unsolved murder
» 0 Comments

By Gene Hartley

HOLLISTER, Mo. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol hopes to use a novel crime-fighting tool to solve 52 mysteries. One of those is the unsolved murder of a teenage mother.

Some people might remember a deck of cards that the U.S. military developed to help troops identify Iraq's most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein's government and military. Soon, right here in the Ozarks, you'll see the same idea used for 52 cold cases.

"Somebody knows something, but nobody talks," said Susan Sutton.

The murder case of Sutton’s daughter has been cold for five years. Becky Sutton disappeared from her home here in 2003. She was 19 years old. Her body eventually turned up in the Mark Twain National Forest.

"I want more people to know,” said Sutton.

Susan Sutton says she doesn't know any more about her daughter's case today than she did the day it happened. What's worse, she's afraid that the public doesn't know anything about Becky either.

"Nowadays, anybody says Rebecca Sutton and nobody knows who Rebecca is, nobody knew there was a girl missing out of Hollister,” said the mother.

Normally when a person disappears, the most publicity it gets is a poster that you might see at a grocery store or a bank. Soon, a deck of cards will be in the hands of thousands of people, bringing new attention to cases like Becky's that have long been cold.

It's a concept that seems to be working in Florida. Decks of cards featuring missing person cases and unsolved homicides were sent to prison inmates and, within a year, at least six cases were solved. Another six are tied up in court and could be solved soon.

"Somebody is still out there walking around that's done something,” said Sutton.

She hopes the cards featuring Missouri's missing persons and unsolved homicides will bring the answers for which she's been waiting.

“Solve my case, somebody solve my case, and let me rest for a while,” she said.

The cards will go to all state prison inmates, along with law enforcement officers and reporters. They will feature people from all over Missouri.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

Comments are moderated and will not appear on this story until after they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.

KY3 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

More Weather

On Demand

Stock Quotes

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Sponsors

AP Video