Two cold cases from Nodaway County (Teresa “Tess” Hilt found deceased at her Maryville apartment on August 4. 1973 and Branson Kane Perry who has been missing from his Skidmore residence since April 11, 2001) are featured in this year’s Missouri deck of cold case playing cards which primarily distributed to Missouri inmates in hopes of getting a obtaining inmate help in solving the crime.
Teresa Sue Hilt was found murdered on August 4, 1973. She had been beaten, raped, stabbed, and strangled to death. Her remains were found in her off campus apartment in Maryville, Missouri. Tess was found face down on her bed under a neatly arranged sheet. She was stabbed in the chest and lower abdomen area. Her panty hose was tied around her neck and her wrists bound with shoelaces. A paring knife taken from her own kitchen was found cupped in her hand.
Branson Perry vanished on April 11, 2001, from Skidmore, Missouri. The 20-year-old stepped outside his father’s house in broad daylight to return a pair of jumper cables to a nearby shed and never returned.
The full deck and details is posted on the attorney general website.
Cold case playing cards are standard 52-card decks produced by law enforcement and state agencies to help solve unsolved homicides, missing persons, and unidentified remains cases. Each card features a victim’s photograph, a summary of the case, and a dedicated, anonymous tip line. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Origins and Inspiration
- Historical Precedent: The military use of playing cards for informational purposes dates back to World War II—when Allied forces used decks with aircraft silhouettes and hidden escape routes. In 2003, the U.S. military famously distributed playing cards featuring high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein’s regime during the Iraq War. [1]
- Inception (2005): The law enforcement concept was conceived in 2005 by Tommy Ray, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). While interviewing an inmate by mistake at a prison, the conversation casually drifted to cold cases, leading to a tip about an unsolved murder (the Angela Nash case). [1, 2]
- First Program: Inspired by this accident, Florida’s Polk County partnered with Effective Playing Cards to produce the first official deck of unsolved homicide cards and distribute them to local jail inmates. Within months, the Polk County decks generated dozens of tips and multiple solved cases. [1, 2]
Expansion and Distribution
- Statewide Adoption: Following Florida’s initial success, correctional departments, state police, and crime stoppers organizations across the United States adopted the strategy. [1]
- Target Audience: Decks are handed out to prison and jail inmates, as incarcerated populations have a higher statistical likelihood of overlapping with or hearing conversations about past local crimes. [1, 2]
- Widespread Reach: Programs have been rolled out in numerous states—including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Louisiana, and Washington—yielding hundreds of featured victim profiles and helping detectives resolve dozens of decades-old investigations. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Jokes About Giving Cold Case Playing Cards to Inmates
- These cold case playing cards are the only deck where “Go Fish” means, “Have you got any leads?”
- Inmates are being dealt cold cases—finally, a hand that could help investigators.
- The cards feature unsolved crimes. It’s a real case of playing your cards close to the vest.
- The deck’s tough to beat: every card has a cold case, and every player’s looking for a fresh lead.
- “Want to play a round?” “Sure—what’s the game?” “Clue.”
- They’re giving inmates a chance to solve cold cases. Talk about turning a losing hand into a hot lead.
- The jokers are easy to spot. It’s the cold cases that are hard to crack.