JACKSON, Mich. — Families of crime victims in the Jackson area held a community remembrance event on Tuesday to call attention to cases that are still unsolved.
One was the case of 14-year-old Cameron Blake Kasprzycki who was shot and killed in February of last year.
Jackson Police Department Director Elmer Hitt is now saying that case is “very much open.
"I do know that the detective actually mentioned to me, there’s a couple people right now that he’s been trying to track down to speak with that may have potentially some information to provide,” Hitt said.
But, Cameron's family says they feel like they've been left in the dark.
“We get nothing," Cameron's father Philip Kasprzycki saidi earlier this week. "Nobody gets a hold of us lets us know anything about our case or if there’s a case going. And these kids that are suspected of doing this...or these young adults are still walking the streets, they’re still walking out there.”
The family is frustrated with the fact that Cameron's killer or killers haven't been brought to justice.
“They don’t dig in they don’t try hard enough," said Philip Kaspryzcki. "I’ve asked them that question, if it was your family would you try harder than what you’re doing now and they don’t have an answer for that so.”
Hitt says he understands the family’s frustration "and probably what they are thinking and feeling at this time.
"I can empathize with that and certainly if I was in their shoes, I would be very frustrated with the process and the system right now but, again I just urge them to be patient and understand that it is still an active investigation and I certainly hope down the road here we can close this out and again get a prosecutable case to the prosecutor’s office,” he said.
The Kasprzyckis say they're quickly losing faith in the process.
"I’ve been hung up on by the Jackson city police," said Cameron's sister Mackenzie Kasprzycki. "I even called the head of the detectives and she hung up on me herself three different times.”
Asked if he was aware of Mackenzie's complaint, Hitt said “I am not aware of that, if that’s, if that has occurred. I would certainly hope that has not occurred. But, I have not heard that. That is the first I’ve heard of that from anyone,"
Sometimes these cases take time, he said.
"Unfortunately these types of cases they can be dealt with very quickly and in a matter of time to get through the process in four, five, six months and other times it could take several years and unfortunately there are other times when a case can never be brought forward and prosecuted. That’s certainly the last thing we want to have happen here and we will do our best to bring justice to the family and for Cameron himself," Hitt said.
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