RYAN WOOLLEY: A homicide investigator's focus is the homicide--How did it occur? Who did it? But we don't just serve the people that have died. We have all those that are having to live on, and we try to help those people get through a difficult process. It's not normal to have a family member killed in a homicide event.
When that happens, the initial shock sets in and you're lucky that most family can even communicate, much less remember what you're telling them. It's a horrible event, and now they're kind of sifting through everything that's happened. And they're trying to figure out what they need to do next.
BRAD GREEN: They're thrust into dealing with the court system, or they're thrust into dealing with the medical examiner's office. And Ryan recognized that there was need to make that easier for them.
RYAN WOOLLEY: When I started creating the Victim Information Booklet, there was a lot to include, and so it just kept getting bigger and bigger. And I actually learned a lot about victim services that I didn't know before.
TAMMY FERRARI: It has all of the resources, from victim's rights, victim services, or compensation and people they can contact for counseling. And it's all in one pamphlet.
BRAD GREEN: We deal with so many rural areas and people may not have Internet, they may not have access to information. And by providing this book to them, they're able to have those resources right at their fingertips.
TAMMY FERRARI: They are feeling overwhelmed, they're in shock. They usually have a lot of questions, but they may not ask them at that time. Having the booklet helps because they're able to reference it instead of having to call us. And then that gives us the opportunity to continue with our case and conduct interviews or track down leads.
RYAN WOOLLEY: ...so we get some of the most difficult cases, and we still have a solve rate of 76 percent.
BRAD GREEN: Ryan has a passion for crime scene work, and he understands that these crimes don't just impact the victim. It impacts the families. It impacts other people that are close to this person. And because he cares so much about others, he wanted to make it easier for them.
