Murder Victim's Mom Thinks Parents Need To Get Involved In Investigations
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago woman who lost her son to street violence said if more parents were doing what she's doing, police might be able to solve more murders.
Rekeia Williams is not your typical grieving mother. She's been reviewing a box full of documents, including morgue photos of her son Antonio Alves, hoping to find clues about who shot and killed him last summer.
"Oh my God, they thought that I was going to be traumatized," Williams said. "But I really just wanted to get to the bottom of things. It wasn't an emotional thing. It was more so that I want to be involved."
Williams said more parents need to get involved in solving murders when their children are killed.
"I'm doing my own footwork, along with the police, and I don't know if a lot of other parents do it, but maybe they should. Maybe more murders will get solved if the parents actually make an effort," she said.
Alves was 18 when two men pulled up alongside him in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, and shot him 10 times on Aug. 10, 2013. One of the gunmen didn't even open the car window before shooting.
"Which was insane, because I've never even heard of anything like that, not even in the movies. Who shoots through their own car window?" Williams said.
Since then, she has started investigating the case on her own, obtaining records from the morgue, the police, and the hospital – and by pounding the pavement.
"I've been out here talking to the guys on these blocks. I've been trying to get leads on anything," she said.
Williams also put her son's on a billboard, to mark what would have been his 19th birthday, with the message "Lil-Tony. Tone World. Your Legend Lives On."
"It's worth every dime if it gets the attention of the officers on this case," she said.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information can provide an anonymous tip by calling 800-535-7867.