After years of intense investigations and following leads, Hartford Police are hoping new initiatives will better help them solve cold cases.
"He was such a good boy," said Maria Rodriguez through tears about her son, Ricardo Rivera.
Rivera, 19, was shot and killed on Cherry Street in Hartford back in October 2015. The case is still unsolved.
"Somebody say something because I know somebody knows," Rodriguez said.
Now she's hoping a calendar can help bring forward leads.
Hartford police along with Mothers United Against Violence filled the pages with 23 cold case victims. It's a new tool they plan to possibly distribute at local stores, the train station, libraries and three correctional facilities to generate leads.
"I honestly feel that this is a great tool and it will generate people talking, whether it's in the jails or in public," said Jasmine Moton.
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Moton lost her brother, 33-year-old William Ward, last year in a double homicide in Hartford.
She's hoping the calendar makes people come forward with information. She said she has friends who had cases solved thanks to the Connecticut Department of Correction "Cold Case" playing cards distributed to inmates.
"It just means so much to us for us to know who did this to him," Moton said.
Also inside the calendar, the numbers for an anonymous cold case tip line for citizens and one for inmates.
Police also created a pin for officers and victims' families inscribed with "Forever in our Thoughts," and they're creating a commemorative coin as well.
"We don't know anything," Rodriguez said about her son's case.
But these parents are hoping these new initiatives change that.
Hartford police said this is the first time they've created a cold case initiative specific to Hartford.
They're also looking for ways to get the word out on social media.
