Wednesday, the Las Vegas City Council and Mayor Carolyn Goodman honored the organization, the Vegas Justice League.
"It's amazing," said Justin Woo, founder of the organization. "We appreciate the mayor for honoring us [Wednesday] and the city. We're just appreciative to be able to give back to the community and help support Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in their request to solve these cases."
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The organization works with LVMPD to find answers to unsolved cases. The Justice League makes financial contributions to help pay for DNA testing and bring some closure to victims' families.
"The efforts of the Vegas Justice League have led to cold cases being solved that are more than 40 years old," said Mayor Carolyn Goodman.
It started in 2020 for the Justice League. The first case they put their resources toward was the murder of Stephanie Isaacson, who was sexually assaulted and killed on her way to Eldorado High School in 1989.
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"Stephanie Isaacson will always live on in my memory, getting to meet the parents and hearing that they've cried every day for the past 30 years, and now they have a little closure," Woo said. "It will never be full closure or justice for them. But giving back what we can was very meaningful."
In July 2021, metro police identified the 14-year-old's killer as Darren Marchand through DNA after Justice League Founder Woo wrote a $5,000 check to Othram Labs in Texas.
"It broke the world record for the smaller amount of DNA used to solve a case," Goodman said.
The police department picks the case, and the Justice League will sponsor it so it can be sent to Othram for DNA testing.
Woo says they are now working with Henderson police, the North Las Vegas Police Department, and the coroner's office.
The motivation for the members continues to be helping out the community and getting answers for families.
"We're very grateful to the mayor and everyone in the community who support us so much," said Lydia Ansel, co-founder of the organization. "We're just honored to support back. It's incredible when everyone works together."
For more information on how to help and the Justice League overall, visit their website.
