Money still isn’t talking …
March 26th, 2008, 1:54 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Linda Weller
On April 2 it will be a year since someone shot 28-year-old DaRon Hearn to death on Oakwood Road in Alton. No one is in custody yet for the crime.
In June, it will be seven years since a yet-unknown killer stabbed young Kristy Black multiple times, wrapped her body in a multi-colored comforter and dumped it in Piasa Harbor, just off the Great River Road. Although someone found Kristy’s remains in Jersey County, authorities believe the Alton teenager’s killing probably happened in the city. Since then, Alton police have been assisting the Jersey County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation.
Those two cases, which have dragged on for one- to 6.5 years, prompted an anonymous 80-year-old Alton man to put up two, $2,000 rewards at Cornerstone Bank and Trust in Alton in late January. He specified that the money would go to whomever provides information leading to the arrests and convictions of the killers of DaRon Hearn or Kristy Black.
Besides that $4,000, there is the possibility of other reward money being available, including from CrimeStoppers - if the tips prove valuable and are called in to: (866) 371-TIPS (8477).
Police have said they believe they know who committed the Hearn killing, and possibly the Black murder, but they need witnesses to come forward to solidify the cases and tie together the information they have. Police know there were people outside Oakwood Estates public housing complex when a man gunned down Hearn, but none will admit to seeing anything.
Black was with a number of people at several locations in Alton the night she died, also.
As a mother, I cannot imagine enduring the double pain of a child suddenly being taken in a senseless, violent act - then going for months or years knowing the killer is not identified and out walking free, enjoying life.
When I learned about the rewards, I called Kristy Black’s aunt, Marilyn Bradford, and Kristy’s mother Susan Williams, for their comments. Both are nice women. I still can remember hearing the optimism and hope in their voices that the money might bring forth some good, solid information on Kristy’s killer. The sisters were so thankful that a stranger would remember the 17-year-old some 6 1/2 years after her killing, and then want to help find her murderer with thousands of dollars of his own money.
Alton Police Chief Chris Sullivan said he is dismayed that no one has called in any worthwhile tips in the months since the two, $2,000 rewards were announced. “There has not been much activity at all, it’s disappointing,” he said this week. “We had hoped the rewards would bring both cases to the forefront. It’s been awhile and we have not had even one call on DaRon. We’ve gotten quite a bit of information on Kristy Black, but it didn’t pan out and none of it has been spurred by the reward.”
At a press conference in January, Sullivan, Jersey County Sheriff Mark Kallal and detective John Hazelwood said tipsters could remain anonymous. The authorities also said at the time that the reward committee will review the situation six months from then to determine if the accounts should remain active.
Now is the time for anyone who knows who killed DaRon or Kristy - or who saw or heard something that might be useful to investigators on the nights those young people were murdered - to come forward. Try for the reward money, or eschew the cash if it makes you feel better. But do call, so the families of these victims can rest easier, their pain can subside somewhat and the guilty people can face justice.
The Jersey County Sheriff’s Office telephone number is (618) 498-6881; detectives at the Alton Police Department can be reached at (618) 463-3505 ext. 3. Its anonymous tip line is (618) 465-5948.
