CLEVELAND — The family and friends of 22-year-old Britney Hardwick pledged to never forget and never give up in their search for her killer.
The Cleveland mother was found shot and killed in her car, which was parked in front of a home in the 1400 block of East 176th Street on Dec. 12, 2020. The case remains unsolved, and so far police have been unable to make any arrests.
Hardwick's mother, Sandra Dawkins, held a balloon launch in her daughter's memory, marking the two years her case has remained unsolved.
Dawkins told News 5 it's been a daily battle coping with her daughter's murder, knowing that the killer is still out there somewhere. Dawkins urged Cleveland police to finally make an arrest in the case.
"For these two years, I've been looking for her and thinking about her, trying to say things so I could hear her voice," Dawkins said. "And today it hit me, it's been 730 days, and my baby hasn't come home and she's not coming home."
"They killed my Brittany for no reason, and nobody is being held accountable—730 days and there's a murderer running around," Dawkins said. "You have your suspects, go after these people, stop sitting around waiting for somebody to come and tell you. People are not going to put their life on the line to tell you something that detectives and police are trained to find out."
Dawkins said her daughter's case will soon receive national attention, with the Wall Street Journal expected to publish an article on the unsolved case some time in January 2023.
Hardwick's sister, Roenica Dawkins, is hoping someone will come forward and give police they information they need to finally make an arrest.
"But. it's just sad that they're just walking around and that there are people okay with that, that's the saddest part," Roenica Dawkins said. "If it was your sister, daughter or mother you would want to know. But it's not snitching if you're helping somebody, it's not to help yourself, it's to help somebody, it's to help a family have closure."
Anyone with information on the case is being asked to contact the Cleveland police homicide unit at 216-623-5464.
Meanwhile, Sandra Dawkins said she's most hurt for her 2-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Justice.
"Her name says it all, it's really ironic that Britney named her Justice. Who knew," Dawkins said. "When you take a child's mother, you should be charged with something extra, because you are damaging this child for life, you've taken something that nobody can give back."
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