Jason Royter doodled cartoons all over the place, his sisters stated. Earlier than the 33-year-old was killed in 2005, he’d draw on newspapers, on items of outdated plywood, and on the storage wall subsequent to the place he favored to smoke.
“You’ll simply by no means know once you’d run throughout one in every of his doodles,” stated his sister Stephani Perschon, 57.
Now, 17 years after their “horribly humorous” brother was stabbed to loss of life in his own residence in Magna, Royter’s murder is one in every of tons of of circumstances in Utah which have gone chilly.
However Perschon and Niki Value, 54, have renewed hope that they’ll get some solutions, thanks partially to a set of enjoying playing cards launched by the Unified Police Division of Salt Lake’s chilly case unit.
The deck is typical in nearly each means, besides almost all of the playing cards embrace a photograph of a lacking individual or a sufferer of murder, in addition to details about the case and a cellphone quantity to name with suggestions.
The objective is to get the enjoying playing cards into each jail and jail in Utah and surrounding states within the hopes that they are going to get inmates speaking in regards to the circumstances and possibly coming ahead with new leads.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A enjoying card depicts Jason Royter, whose 2005 murder in Magna stays unsolved. The Unified Police Division lately launched a deck of enjoying playing cards with every card displaying a photograph and outline of a chilly case or lacking individual which will probably be given out in prisons, jails and midway homes in hopes of getting individuals to speak about them and open up any leads. Subsequent to the playing cards is a drawing by Royter, who liked to doodle, his household stated.
The 2 sisters stated they’re “ecstatic” in regards to the playing cards, and suppose they’re going to “shake up some grime” and get individuals speaking about their brother’s case.
“We don’t imagine that only one single dwelling individual is aware of what occurred,” Perschon stated. “I imagine there’s slightly chain, and that chain goes to interrupt.”
Transferring circumstances ahead
Moreover two jokers, the deck contains 52 playing cards, every representing a case that’s underneath the purview of Unified Police: 34 playing cards about chilly case homicides, 15 playing cards about lacking individuals presumably involving foul play, and three playing cards about circumstances which might be solved however nonetheless have excellent warrants related to them.
Ben Pender, a chilly case detective with Unified Police, stated he received the concept for the playing cards from different states which have issued related decks, together with Florida, Kansas, Indiana, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington and others.
In 2019, the Utah Chilly Case Coalition distributed its personal deck of 54 playing cards, that includes one Utah chilly case for every enjoying card, together with each jokers.
As soon as the Unified Police decks are distributed to Utah jails and prisons, Pender stated he’d like inmates to have free entry to them, with amenities giving inmates the choice to test the decks out after which return them. “This fashion, the enjoying playing cards can stay within the facility and be utilized by a number of individuals,” he stated.
“On the finish of the day, all of us need the case to be resolved or solved,” Pender stated, “but when we will progress the case ahead, to me, that’s at all times a win as effectively.”
‘Everyone is aware of everyone’
(Courtesy photograph) Jason Royter, who was killed in 2005, is proven on this undated household photograph.
For Jason Royter’s case to be unsolved after so a few years, “it’s an indescribable ache,” stated Stephani Perschon, including that it scares her that her brother’s killer continues to be on the market, “as a result of they might do it once more.”
Royter was the youngest of 5 youngsters, and the one son. Niki Value stated he had the identical snicker as his father and his personal son. When she hears both of them snicker, she stated, she hears her brother.
Within the deck, Royter’s card is the 2 of golf equipment. In response to the knowledge on it, police didn’t see any indicators of compelled entry on Aug. 6, 2005, which leads Perschon and Value to suppose he knew his attacker.
Town of Magna is tightly knit, Perschon stated. “Everyone is aware of everyone, and everyone is aware of grime on others. So we’re form of hoping that that’s going to work in Jason’s case.”
The playing cards received’t be out there to the general public, however the identical data may be discovered at UPDSL.org/ColdCase.html and within the state chilly case database.
To supply a tip, name the Unified Chilly Case Unit at 385-468-9816, or submit it by way of electronic mail to Communityrelations@updsl.org.