Project: Cold Case

Welcome back to "Ask the Advocates" where we ask our victim advocates Ryan, Sarah, Crystal and Kim our most asked questions about victim advocacy, working with loved ones of cold case victims and more and bring you their professional answers and advice!

This week we're asking one of our most asked questions: "What are some other resources survivors can use to advocate for their loved one's cases?"

Swipe to see their answers, and don't forget to keep your questions coming!

𝓐𝓾𝓰𝓾𝓼𝓽 2026 𝓢𝓾𝓹𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽 𝓜𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰!

Mark your calendars for our August virtual support group being held on Thursday, August 27th from 6pm-8pm EST. Due to Year of Hope being held on Thursday, August 20th, there unfortunately will be no in-person support group this month.

Our support meetings are reserved for survivors only. For more information, you can call our office at (904) 525- 8080, and keep a look out for next month's support meeting schedule if you aren't able to make it this month!

𝐏𝐂𝐂 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞- 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐮𝐥

"𝙃𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩."

Full PCC Spotlight Article linked in comments, including news stories, photos, and more.

On January 25, 1981, Donald Faul, 30, was walking along the Moonwalk in New Orleans, LA on a first date when he was attacked from behind and stabbed fifteen times. He fell off of the Moonwalk, onto the rocks below, due to the impact of the wounds, and died upon impact. Donald’s family continues to advocate for their loved one and seek answers in his case.

Anyone with information regarding the unsolved homicide of Donald Faul is asked to contact the New Orleans Police Department at (504) 658-5455. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, you can call the Crime Stoppers of Greater New Orleans at (504) 822- 1111.

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

The following photos feature cold case victims that were recently submitted to Project: Cold Case by their families.

Click on the photo to learn more about each case and consider sharing to help raise awareness for the victims and their families.

Please remember that our organization does not investigate cases. We advocate, educate, and help raise awareness. Speculation on the details of the case is not helpful on this platform. Comments that are deemed inappropriate and/or potentially hurtful will be removed.

"And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope."

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩: 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚?

Project: Cold Case generally requires that a case be at least one year old before it can be submitted for consideration.

This can be difficult for families, especially in the early months when the pain is fresh and the need for support is so great. But this guideline helps distinguish cold case advocacy from the active stages of an initial investigation. It also allows Project: Cold Case to focus attention on cases that are growing older and may no longer be receiving the same level of visibility.

A case being older does not make it less important. If anything, it is often a reminder of how important continued awareness and advocacy truly are.

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: Even when public attention fades, a family’s grief and need for support do not.

Welcome to the first 𝘼𝙨𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨!

Each week we are going to be taking your questions related to victim advocacy/ cold case advocacy and bringing you answers straight from our very own victim advocates Ryan, Sarah, Crystal and Kim!

This week is a question that our Business Development Coordinator, Zoe, wanted answered: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙘𝙮?

Slide to read our advocates' answers and reasonings, and make sure to submit your own questions for them to answer!

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞!

𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜!

We are excited to announce that our Annual Survivor Family Picnic is coming up on Saturday, August 22nd from 11am- 1pm at Ed Austin Park!

Join us for a morning filled with community, remembrance and fun as our families come together to share their loved ones memories!

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔,
𝟏𝟏:𝟎𝟎𝐀𝐌 – 𝟏:𝟎𝟎𝐏𝐌

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: 𝐄𝐝 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 – 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
𝟏𝟏𝟕𝟓𝟏 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐑𝐝. 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞, 𝐅𝐋 𝟑𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟓

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞

Last week, members of our office had the chance to, not only attend National Organization for Victim Advocacy's 52nd Annual Training in Las Vegas, but our founder and executive director, Ryan Backmann, along with our office manager and victim advocate, Crystal Anlage, were also presenters!

Ryan gave two presentations, one alongside Haley Gray with Haley Gray Research and Witney St. Andre with Advocacy Con about Protecting Stories: Advocating for Ethical True Crime Collaborations and the second covering Cold Case Advocacy: Promoting Healing in the Absence of Justice. Crystal's presentation focused on Homicide Advocacy: A Survivor Advocates Perspective.

The week was filled with educational and informative presentations covering a broad range of topics related to victim advocacy to help advocates better understand the needs of victims and survivors and also allowed our victim advocates to connect with others across the country.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share Project: Cold Case and our mission with others on these kinds of stages and we look forward to next year's Nova53 in New Orleans!