These Kansas 'cold case' playing cards could help solve Topeka homicides. Here's how

Tirell Ocobock was beaten to death 46 years ago this week in Shawnee County.

Still, members of her family haven't given up hope that her killer will one day be brought to justice.

Family members are glad Ocobock is among victims highlighted in a deck of "cold case" playing cards being handed out to Kansas jail and prison inmates, her sister, Raena Sommers, told The Capital-Journal on Tuesday.

"Our family appreciates the efforts of law enforcement to keep Tirell's case in the public eye," she said. "The cold case playing card concept is a creative approach which we hope will lead to results."

More:These 15 Shawnee County homicides have gone unsolved through the decades

What are Cold Case Playing Cards?

Ocobock's photo appears and information about her case is shared on the Queen of Diamonds in the deck, which highlights cold case homicides, missing persons and suspicious deaths.

She is among eight victims of homicides committed in Topeka and Shawnee County whose names and images appear on the cards, which will be distributed among jail and prison inmates in hopes they'll stimulate conversation about the cases and perhaps motivate inmates to provide tips to law enforcement.

The cards were created by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Kansas Department of Corrections, working in partnership with the Kansas Sheriff's Association, Kansas Peace Officers Association and Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police.

The KBI and corrections department got the idea from other states that have solved multiple cold case homicides, missing persons cases and suspicious deaths by making similar cards available to their inmate populations, the KBI and corrections department said in a news release this week.

"The Cold Case Playing Cards will replace current decks of standard playing cards available in prisons and county jails," the release said. "Decks will be placed in dayrooms and other common areas, and available through the commissary by KDOC residents."

Twenty cold cases have been solved in the state of Connecticut since it began distributing similar cards in which those cases were highlighted, that state's corrections department said on its website.

Previously:Time hasn't eased cold-case pain for Tirell Ocobock's family

What Kansas cold cases are being highlighted?

The Kansas deck highlights the following cases:

• An unidentified remains case from Geary County.
• Missing persons cases from Leavenworth, Lincoln, Pottawatomie, Saline and Sedgwick counties.
• And unsolved homicides from Shawnee, Cherokee, Dickinson, Doniphan, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Leavenworth, Mitchell, Montgomery, Osage, Saline, Sedgwick and Wyandotte counties.

The 52 cards feature a total of 59 victims, with 37 being male and 22 female. Fifty-five were adults while four were children.

Victims highlighted include 17 Black males, 14 white males, five black females, 17 white females, five Hispanic males and one Asian male.

The most recent case spotlighted is the October 2020 killing in Wichita of Costella Reed III, who was with friends and family when an unidentified person shot him in the head and escaped.

Previously:Police now investigating John Waller's suspicious death as homicide

What Topeka-area cold cases are included on the playing cards?

The oldest case spotlighted is the killing of Ocobock, an 18-year-old freshman art student at Washburn University, who was beaten to death with tree limbs on April 26, 1976.

Ocobock was last seen alive preparing to walk about four miles from her home at 1208 S.E. Monroe to return a small puppy to the veterinary hospital where she worked in west Topeka.

Her lifeless, partially clad body was found later that day near S.W. 2nd and Urish Road. The puppy was taken from the scene to an animal shelter.

Ocobock's name is misspelled on the card, but officials say they plan to correct it.

Other local cases highlighted in the cards are the following:

• The February 1984 killing of Clarence "Butch" Lavin, 36, who was found fatally shot just inside the door to his mobile home at 4235 S.E. 85th. The case is highlighted and a photo of Lavin shown on the Six of Spades.
• The December 2013 quadruple homicide in which Tamesha Lee, 34, Eric Christopher Avery, 43, and Marvin Lewis Woods, 56, were fatally shot at 1629 S.W. Central Park Ave. while Carla Jean Avery, 45, was fatally shot in the 1200 block of S.W. 21st. The case is highlighted and photos of the four shown on the Ace of Diamonds.
• The October 2017 killing of Joshua Antoine Jernagin, 30, who was found fatally shot in the bathroom of his apartment at 1324 S.W. Western Ave. Jernagin's girlfriend was also shot but survived. An infant and toddler in the apartment were left unharmed. The case is highlighted and a photo of Jernagin shown on the Four of Hearts.
• The killing of John K. Waller, 36, a bridge inspector for the Kansas Department of Transportation, whose body was found in June 2019 in a house in the 700 block of S.W. Wayne Avenue. Waller was thought to have been killed about two weeks earlier. The case is highlighted and a photo of Waller shown on the Jack of Clubs.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.