Group Wants Unsolved Murders Week

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By Mark Bellinger

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – An advocacy group for families wants to set aside the week of December 13th to focus on unsolved murders.

Case unsolved. Those are discouraging words for the families of murder victims. They're even harder to hear during the holidays.

You might remember when a man was shot and killed after Maplewood High School's graduation ceremony at Tennessee State University. It was May 18, 2009.

One witness said it was scary.

"We started running like we heard gun shots. Everyone in the crowd was just pushing and running. We didn't ask any questions. We just started running," she said.

The victim was 21 year old Andre'us Taylor. He was Sarah Gill's son. She showed reporter Mark Bellinger a photo that was taken over the holidays.

"This was the last Christmas that we took pictures. This is the last photo of him," said Gill.

Gill said this year Thanksgiving is not the same.

"It's just the first holidays without him, so it's hard to really celebrate them," said Gill.

Taylor's murder remains unsolved, which is frustrating to Gill. She said she has stayed silent about the killing until now.

"It's hard to heal when you know somebody has taken somebody else's life and nothing has been done about it," said Gill.

She is not alone. Dozens of Middle Tennessee families go through the holidays feeling the same way or asking the same question. Who did it?

Earl Jordan wants to help.

"I said I'm going to create an unsolved murders week," said Jordan, founder of Partners in the Struggle.

For more than eleven years his group has rallied against murder and gun violence. Jordan wants to use the week of December 13th to support victims' families and appeal to witnesses for information.

"If it was my child, my mother, my father, my son would you want to help? It doesn't take anything but a phone call," said Jordan.

Police say many witnesses refuse to come forward for fear of retaliation, but Jordan says the community needs to convince them to come forward and do the right thing.

Gill totally agrees. She believes someone saw her son's killer.

"I know somebody saw it because there were over 2000 people there," she says.

Gill fully supports any movement that may convince more witnesses to speak up.

"Hopefully, someone will come forward and so we can put this person behind bars where they belong," she says.

Jordan said if using one week to focus on unsolved murders solves just one case it will be well worth it. He said it would also be a holiday blessing to the victim's family.

Next year Jordan hopes to make Unsolved Murders Week a national event.

E-mail: mbellinger@newschannel5.com