BEAUMONT, Texas — For families of murder victims, the Crime Stoppers program has helped them receive closure. It also helps law enforcement track down the killers.
Cristi Ruso and Chelsea Shipp are familiar names to Southeast Texas, both with completely different stories.
In Jasper County, Cristi Ruso was last seen in October of 2021, however, it was a 2022 Crime Stoppers tip that provided a guiding light for investigators.
"They did what needed to happen. They received the tip, they started investigating more and they were able to get that murder warrant in December," said Administrator And Campus Coordinator Jeremy Raley.
Colby Tatom of Hardin County, was arrested on January 4th after he was indicted for first degree murder. Evidence showed that Tatom murdered Ruso and then disposed of her body, according to a Jasper County Sheriff's Office news release.
"Unfortunately, there's not a body yet for that part of the closure, but to know that at least someone has been arrested for the murder and is going to stand trial for this murder...They will have some form of closure," Raley said.
Also in 2022, a tip accidentally sent to Waco Crime Stoppers actually led officers to locating a wanted suspect from Chambers County. 12News followed this story from the beginning.
"We had been receiving tips of her location. There was a raid conducted, and she was found at the location that was provided in Liberty Hill, Texas, and then brought back here," Raley told 12News.
Chelsea Shipp was indicted along with Cody Arnold in June 2022, and both were charged with murder. Shipp told a source that "she got rid of her and shot her", according to the probable cause affidavit.
The body of 16-year-old Katelynn Stone was found at Arnold's home.
"Our success stories are other people's tragedies," said Raley.
Together, Crime Stoppers and the law enforcement of Southeast Texas are making streets safer one anonymous tip at a time.
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If you have information about a crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3Tips App on your mobile device to submit your tip anonymously.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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