LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The holidays can be a challenging time for families of cold case victims, as they continue to seek answers.
The Vegas Justice League, a nonprofit founded by Las Vegas tech entrepreneur Justin Woo and his wife, Lydia Ansel, in 2020, is dedicated to assisting these families by funding advanced DNA testing on unsolved homicides through Othram Laboratory in Texas.
“We have a philanthropy. We just wanted to do good things for the community,” said Woo and Ansel. “When law enforcement reached out, we said that’s something that could be helpful for the community. We sponsored a case, and we ended up solving two cold case murders in Las Vegas.”
One notable case involved the murder of 14-year-old Stephanie Isaacson, who disappeared in June 1989 while walking to Eldorado High School.
Despite initial setbacks with DNA testing, the case was solved in 2021, linking her death to Darren Roy Marchant, who committed suicide in 1995.
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The Vegas Justice League has helped solve nine local cases and 50 cases nationwide.
Through their national initiative, “Project Justice,” they are also addressing unsolved missing children cases.
An anonymous donor contributed over $1 million to support this mission.
“It’s been a great thing overall to be able to assist law enforcement to bridge the gap and the budgets and help to bring answers to families as much as we can,” said Woo. “All of this money goes toward the funding of cases and helping of law enforcement.”
Each case submitted to Othram costs about $7,500, with the nonprofit relying on donations and its own contributions to fund these efforts.
For more information or to support their work, visit the Vegas Justice League’s website.