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

This nonprofit organization provides police with the resources to help solve our valley’s oldest mysteries.

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

“Here in Las Vegas we have some of the best homicide detectives in this country,” LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during Wednesday’s Key to the Strip ceremony. “Routinely, for more than a decade we have been solving more than 90% of the homicides that occur in our jurisdiction, but even with that today we have 1,267 unsolved cases that are actively being worked on.”

The Justice League of Las Vegas has been assisting investigators in their search for justice for victims and now the nonprofit organization is being recognized for its work.

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

SEE | Las Vegas Police Reveal New Details in Unsolved 1994 Melonie White Murder Case

Las Vegas Police Reveal New Details in Unsolved 1994 Melonie White Murder Case

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

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

The 30-year cold case came to an end when 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 Justice League of Las Vegas played an essential role in the investigation.

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

The nonprofit started in the valley in 2020 and is now a group of six volunteers who donate money to Metro Police to fund DNA retests using new technology at Othram Labs in Texas.

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

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

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

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

“Don’t lose hope. “Detectives have not lost hope, they are still working these cases and waiting for leads,” Woo said.

“It’s not a question of if it will be fixed, but when it will be fixed,” 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 authorities to 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 weekbut their help goes far beyond the valley. Woo and Ansel work with law enforcement agencies across the country.

Not only do they work alongside local authorities, but the league also pays for the re-evaluation of DNA cases nationwide by giving the money to Othram Labs. The lab will then use that money to cover a random cold case across the country.

This is also a similar process to how they work with local authorities. Woo, Ansel, and the other League members will talk to the police station, tell them they can fund a certain number of cases, and then the police will choose which cold case to use the money on.

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