MIDLAND The Texas Department of Public Safety announced Monday morning that it has partnered with DRB Media to produce an online series featuring cold cases from the West Texas region.
DPS spokesperson Sgt. Oscar Villarreal said during a press conference at the Elizabeth and Herb Blankenship Lecture Hall located in Midland College’s Advanced Technology Center the series is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. today.
When asked about what case will begin the series, Villarreal didn’t reveal any spoilers.
“You will have to wait until (Tuesday),” he said with a smile. “That’s what keeps the anticipation going.”
Villarreal said he expects one cold case to air each month. He also explained the cases will focus on the more than 6,100 square mile area of the West Texas region.
Danny Barrera, the founder of DRB media, said there are episodes that will contain graphic material. He said controversial content will be blurred to be respectful of the victim and the victim’s family.
“The episodes will run 2 to 3 minutes long,” Barrera said. “The ultimate goal is to produce a 30-minute segment of either one case or several cases put together.”
Midland County Sheriff David Criner said he’s excited the series will shed light on cold cases.
“We have several cases that have happened in Midland County through the years and it will be featured in the new series presented by the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Criner said.
Villarreal said the cases will range from murder to sexual assault, missing persons and unidentified remains. He continued to detail that the goal is to not only solve the crime, but bring offenders to justice.
“During each episode, we’ll highlight a new case in hopes of bringing attention and hopefully encouraging and inspiring someone who saw something or may have seen something to come forward; help us bring closure to families and solve these cases at the same time,” Villarreal said.
