Deck of playing cards helps shine light on 52 unsolved Florida homicides
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A Florida non-profit made a deck of playing cards to help shine light on 52 unsolved homicides in the sunshine state.
Ryan Backmann knows the pain of loss, and the agony of waiting for answers.
"My dad was murdered in 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida, and his case quickly went cold," he said.
It is the reason Backmann launched the non-profit Project: Cold Case. It helps the families of unsolved homicides across the country by bringing awareness to the victims and circumstances around their deaths.
"A lot of times families start to feel like their loved one is forgotten and that no one else cares. And that's a really, really bad and sad place to be while you're grieving," said Backmann.
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The Jacksonville organization recently developed a deck of playing cards featuring 52 of the state’s cold cases. Each card displays a victim’s picture and a short description of what happened. There are four cases from Pinellas County, including Taylor McAllister’s.
"A beautiful soul inside and out. There was never anyone that ever met her that didn't love her," said Bill McAllister, Taylor’s father.
The young mother of two was found dead nearly six years ago. Her body was dumped in an alley along 63rd Avenue South in St. Petersburg in December 2016.
"Her girls are left behind, her siblings are left behind, we are left behind," Taylor’s mother, Leslie McAllister said. "And it's a void that cannot be filled with anything."
The 22-year-old was strangled. About a year after the homicide, three men were charged with failure to report her death, but investigators have not arrested anyone for killing Taylor.
"It's something that no matter how long it takes, we're going to keep fighting for," said Bill.
For the McAllisters' and the families of the other victims, they have a new hope for answers in the Project: Cold Case playing cards.
"I would beg people if they know anything, to please come forward," Leslie said. "And that's why I’m so thankful for these cards."
The 750 decks are now being distributed across the state, getting the cases out into the public with fresh eyes and more exposure. Some will be placed in county jails, but the focus is more on making sure people see the faces and read the stories.
"We had people from the poker room come and get decks of cards, people from tattoo parlors come and get decks of cards and people from craft breweries got cards so that just everyday people that are out and about living their daily lives have an opportunity to view these cases, see these victims," said Backman.
The St. Petersburg Police Department said Taylor’s case remains open, but detectives need new information or testimony to move the case forward. Crime Stoppers Pinellas County is offering up to a $3,000 rewards for information leading to an arrest.