Amanda O'Dell's case features on playing cards given to inmates in initiative to generate leads in cold cases

Now, there is renewed hope that cold case homicides like Amanda's could be solved.

The NSW Police Force's Unsolved Homicide Unit and Corrective Services NSW - in partnership with Crime Stoppers, and the Homicide Victims' Support Group - have introduced playing cards into the state's jails that feature victims of cold case murders.

Amanda's case is one of the 52 of the state's unsolved murders that has been printed on the playing cards.

Each of the playing decks contains cards which display a photograph and information about an unsolved homicide or suspicious disappearance and have been produced and distributed by inmates working at Corrective Services Industries (CSI).

Corrective Services confirmed the playing cards program is being run as a pilot at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater at this stage.

Amanda's mother Doreen O'Dell said the family has welcomed this approach to potentially solving cold cases.

"We're all hoping that some information will come through this program that's about Amanda," she said.

"They did have this type of program in South Australia for four years and we have heard that it helped catch murderers there and also in the United States."

Doreen and her husband Malcolm first heard about the initiative through the Homicide Victims' Support Group.

"A lot of the prisoners helped make the cards, which is very good," Doreen said.

"Sometimes prisoners talk and they might be able to catch somebody."

Amanda was out with friends on the night of April 8, 2006. Her friends dropped her home at around 10.45pm, but she never made it inside the house.

She disappeared from her front doorstep.

The following five weeks were spent searching for the 20-year-old until two people discovered the remains of a woman near an unmarked track in bushland in the Tamban State Forest, north of Kempsey.

The remains were identified as belonging to Amanda.

Five months after Amanda's body was discovered, a 22-year-old man was charged with her murder.

A trial was held at Newcastle's Supreme Court in June 2008. The man professed his innocence, vehemently denied he had any involvement in Amanda's death and the jury found him not guilty.

No other person has been charged in relation to Amanda's murder.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Police, Paul Toole, said the playing cards initiative had been planned over many years in close consultation with the victims' families.

"The police investigations into these cases are well and truly active, but they are reliant on information that has been held tightly for too long," he said.

NSW Police Force Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty APM, said it's hoped the cards generate new leads by circulating crucial information about suspected victims among inmates who may have knowledge of those crimes.

"This format has already had success in the United States and other jurisdictions here in Australia, and we have worked collaboratively under Operation Veritas for almost two years to ensure we get it right," he said.

"We know inmates often share details of their crimes or those committed by associates with others; this is about capitalising on that and generating new information to progress these cases."

Homicide Victims' Support Group Executive Director, Martha Jabour, said more than five years of advocacy by their members had led to the introduction of the cards.

"The families of those represented were personally involved in the production process because for them, these cards represent the potential for both truth and justice," she said.

Amanda's parents and sister Belinda have each been given one of the 10 of Hearts playing card featuring her case details.

"[This program] leaves a bit of hope for the families of people who have been murdered," Doreen said.

Anyone with information that may assist Unsolved Homicide Unit investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.

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