Thanks bunches to everyone who has expressed support for our family as we had our meeting with the DA’s office yesterday. For obvious reasons, we can’t comment specifically on anything related to the investigation, including how the meeting went. However, I want to once again express that I trust and fully expect that the authorities will vigorously pursue justice for Henry, and much more importantly, work to make sure that those involved in my child’s assault and overdose are prevented from hurting anyone else’s child in our community. This remains our family’s expectation, and we will continue to offer our support to all of the hard working folks who are handling the case within the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the DA’s office. Their jobs are not easy ones, we know, and this isn’t their only case, even if it is the only case that matters this much to me.
While our expectations are high and are based on the confidence we have in KCSO and the DA’s office, we will never rest until we are convinced that no investigative or legal stone is left unturned in the series of events that led to our son’s death. If for any reason – and again, let me be clear that we don’t expect this – we do not ultimately feel that authorities have pursued the case as thoroughly as possible, Henry’s father and I will need all the support we can get as we would then take a more proactive role in lobbying for a more complete investigation and potential prosecution.
That’s really all I can say for now, which is difficult, but the right thing to do. We have to let the authorities do their jobs, and we continue to be assured by those in charge that they are.
Thanks everyone. Please don’t forget about Henry’s case, even if we can’t say anything about how it’s going for a while.
-Katie
You are a good mom and you are doing the right thing.
Hang in there. Know that you are supported by many, many people.
I hope that this meeting helped alleviate some of your family's anguish. Stay strong.
Reading between the lines, the meeting was not all that satisfactory.
i'm on your side.
Thank you for the update. I know firsthand how interminable the process can be.
I'll support you all I can. It should never be that people ever get the idea that someone can get beat up, left to flounder hurt, be given drugs without severe consequences. When those things can be done to ANYONE with little or no accountability, none of us will be safe.
If the way Henry's case was handled is typical of how police investigate injuries suffered by ANY people, this is a serious deficit in safety for all of us.
May you keep the strength to insist on justice to all of God's children.
Does the Knoxville sheriff's office perform less than complete investigations to crimes done against those categorized as "deserving" of the treatment? Is the way Henry's case was handled the way all such cases are dismissed when the victim is suspected of "bringing on" the crime? If so, there is a big problem in Knoxville and probably everywhere here in this country.
that had to be a tough post to write. It must be hard to keep quiet about something so important. It makes sense to me, though. I hope your tremendous dedication and strength are matched tenfold by the efforts of law enforcement.
A family member was tangentially involved in a murder investigation several years ago. It was an apparent suicide, but no one in the victim's life believed that.
The victim's family were pretty sure from the start who the murderer was, and were very frustrated as time went by and nothing happened.
An arrest was finally made about a year later. Turned out the detectives had suspected the same person since day one, but that's how long it took to get all the records and lab work needed for a prosecutable case against the murderer.
It went against the grain of our CSI Miami-influenced ideas of how quickly investigations should be resolved, but the long wait didn't mean nothing was being done. I hope the same is true for Henry's investigation.
Keep fighting the good fight for Henry.
Oh Katie,
I will never forget. As a Mom, all children are my children. This is burned into my brain.
What a long strange trip this will be. Stay strong.