Clues to cases may be in the cards

Authorities hope a new tool cracks the Jennifer Odom disappearance and other cold cases.

By AUSTIN BOGUES, Times Staff Writer
Published August 25, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Today would have been Jennifer Odom's 27th birthday.

More than 14 years after the 12-year-old Pasco County girl stepped off of a school bus on her way home only to be found dead six days later in an eastern Hernando County orange grove, her family still grieves and wishes that her killer would be found.

Investigators, stymied in their efforts to solve this heart-wrenching crime, on Friday unveiled a new and unusual tool that they hope will crack this case and many others like it.

Members of Hernando County Crime Stoppers handed out special playing cards to inmates at the Hernando County Jail.

Each card features a brief description of an unsolved case from around the state on the face side. There is also a hotline number, 1-800-226-TIPS (8477), in red. On the back side, there is a Web site, www.coldcaseteam.com.

The cards, paid for by the state Attorney General's Crime Stoppers Trust Fund, have been given to inmates around Florida since July in the hope that they or someone they associate with has some information concerning these so-called cold cases.

Authorities said that so far, the cards have led to seven new tips on Jennifer Odom's case, and two in another local case, the murder of Yvonne Davenport, whose body was found in rural Hernando County on March 22, 1987. Investigators would not discuss the nature of the tips.

In the deck, Jennifer is the queen of diamonds. Nearly every other card carried a photograph of the victim except for those dealing with children. On Jennifer's card, there are two color photos, one of a Hooters sweatshirt she was wearing that has never been found; and a picture of her bookbag, found two years later on a dirt road 12 miles west of where she was found.

The ace of diamonds contains the black and white photo of Davenport, 25, who was a dancer in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Jennifer Odom's mother, Renee Converse, and Yvonne Davenport's mother, Violet Luttinen, along with her sister Michelle Abrams, attended a news conference at the jail Friday to support the initiative.

Abrams' voice quavered and she brushed back tears as she recounted memories of the sister who was taken from her when she was only 11. "She was a known prostitute," Abrams said, "but that doesn't make her any less of a person."

Converse said, "We're hoping that one person will know something."

Since Jennifer's murder, investigators have tried various methods of generating new leads, from billboards and an offer of a $20,000 reward to an appearance in 1994 on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries. These have led to more than 1,000 tips, but no arrests.

Shortly after the decks were handed out, inmates looked over the cards as they played a few games of spades.

"It might make more of an impact (if the cards were distributed) out on the streets," said Miranda Cloud, an inmate. "But it helps out because people here have nothing better to do than sit and play cards."

The joker in the deck gives details about the Crime Stoppers' effort. "You might know something about these cases ... that information just might be the missing link that family members have been waiting years for that can solve their loved one's case and bring closure to their family.

"The victims ... are someone's mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband or child."

[Last modified August 24, 2007, 22:04:12]