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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) HERALD STAFF PHOTO BY DARREN BREEN 051708 Playing cards with photographs of cold case victims issued to inmates to help solve the crimes, photographed Saturday May 17, 2008. Jack of Hearts Tira Snyder.  Photo Gallery: Cold Case Cards   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Police arrest Snohomish County suspects linked to 140 burglaries 4/24/09 • Families plead for tips on cold cases 5/24/09 • Cold-case playing cards bring police new leads 5/24/09 • Family of slain Machias woman waits for answers 5/17/09 • Cold Case: Unsolved shootings ended mother-daughter trail hike 5/10/09 • Woman's slaying unsolved after 20 years 5/3/09 • Bulgarian's death likely tied to drugs 4/26/09 • Cold case: Body found in Bothell was long unidentified 4/19/09 • Cold Case: Three decades, no answers in slaying of Lynnwood woman 4/5/09 • After 29 years, grandmother's slaying unsolved 3/29/09 • Police seek clues in 1982 Gold Bar slaying 3/22/09 • Cold Case: Victim of fatal beating was just 13 3/15/09 • Cold case: Still no arrests in 1977 Everett slaying 3/8/09 • Cold Case: DNA hasn't closed case in '90 slaying 3/1/09 • Cold case: A blow to the head killed Bothell woman 2/22/09 • Cold Case: Murder, disappearance not forgotten 2/15/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, November 30, 2008 Young mother was fatally shot in her home By Diana Hefley Herald Writer MONROE -- Tira Snyder would've done anything for her daughter. The little girl was her joy. Snyder, 19, wanted to take care of Molly the best she could. She wanted so much to be a good mom. "Molly was everything to her," Dave Snyder said of his former wife. On July 1, 1985, Dave Snyder returned home and found the couple's 6-month-old daughter alone inside the family car, along with a load of groceries. His wife was inside their Lake Roesiger home, shot to death. Investigators suspect the new mom was killed during an interrupted burglary. She likely was carrying groceries into the house. Molly was in the car for hours before she was rescued. Miraculously, she was unharmed. The vehicle was parked in the shade and the windows were rolled down. "Thank God," said Dave Snyder, who speculates that the killer must have driven right by his daughter sitting in the car. No one has ever been arrested for Tira Snyder's slaying. She is featured on the Jack of Hearts in the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. More than 3,000 decks of cards have been provided to jails and prisons. Detectives hope inmates who have information about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases will step forward with new tips. Police named two suspects in the early 1990s, including a Snohomish County man who is a convicted serial burglar. As part of a plea agreement, the man agreed to tell investigators anything he knew about Snyder's homicide. He denied involvement in the slaying. He recently was released from a lengthy prison sentence for a series of break-ins. "We haven't been able to rule anybody out yet," Snohomish County sheriff's detective Jim Scharf said when asked whether the man remains a suspect in the slaying. Dave Snyder, who has since remarried, believes Tira Snyder and their daughter deserve justice. He hopes someone will come forward with information that will help lead detectives to the evidence they need to solve the crime. "I always feel like Molly was short-changed," Dave Snyder said. "She never got a chance to know her mother." Tira Snyder didn't get nearly enough time to be a mom to her little girl. "I can't help thinking about how good of mom she was going to be," Dave Snyder said. "She just wanted to care for Molly." Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com. About this series Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. To see the 52 cards, go to www.heraldnet.com. Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). A reward of up to $1,000 is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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