LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Justice is not always immediate for friends and families of victims of violent crimes.
It could take days, months, and unfortunately even years in some cases — like in the case of Karen Brill-Kelley's son Aric Brill.
"Aric's murder wasn't solved for seven years," Brill-Kelley said. "And for seven years, this is something I wanted to speak about."
In February 2009, police say armed gang members Arthur Moore, Devonte Wash, Devon Phillips and Nadin Hiko approached Brill and his friends at Charleston Boulevard and Sloan Lane to rob them.
Brill was shot in the head as he tried to run away. And Brill-Kelley got the phone call no mother ever wants to receive.
"Aric's father went to answer it, and he came back into the bedroom and he was like, 'Aric's been shot,'" Brill-Kelley recalled. "I said, 'What?' He said 'Aric's been shot and we have to go to UMC.'"
Doctors told Karen that the gunshot wound caused swelling to form in Aric's brain. He would die at the hospital.
"It wrecked us," Brill-Kelley said. "You can't get off the floor. You know, you can't walk, can't think; you can't drive, you can't grocery shop, you can't clean, you can't cook. All you can do is cry."
It would take seven years before justice was delivered in this case.
All four suspects were arrested in 2016, and by January 2022, all of them were sentenced for the crime.
"For unsolved murder, just don't give up," Brill-Kelley said. "You know, I felt like every day I was fighting a losing battle trying to find Aric's murderers and have them arrested."
Justice for a lost loved one is something Regina Lacerda continues to fight for, as well.
"She was my baby. She was my everything. She was my life," Lacerda said of her daughter, Tabatha Tozzi. "She was not only my daughter; she was my best friend."
Tozzi was found shot at a home on Leger Drive, near Cimarron Road, on April 22, 2023.
She was taken to University Medical Center where, days later, police say she died from her injuries.
According to investigators, Tozzi had been in an argument with her ex-boyfriend, Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez, when he shot and killed her — then ran away.
"This guy is out there. He is free," Lacerda said. "He killed my daughter, he can kill again. He is a threat for the community. He is a threat for society."
Channel 13 spoke with Lacerda this past October as she and her daughter's friends called on police to get justice in the case.
"I'm going to fight until my last breath," Lacerda said. "I'm going to be here, fighting for justice."
That fight is not an easy one, and support is crucial.
If you are struggling following the killing of a loved on, Brill-Kelley advises finding a support group to help you through it.
"Find something that's comfortable and you feel at home, where you can talk," Brill-Kelley said. "You know, sitting at home and trying to struggle with that alone doesn't work. And never give up. Never give up. There's always hope."
The reward for information leading to an arrest in the Tabatha Tozzi case recently went up to $30,000.
The FBI is seeking information on the whereabouts of her ex-boyfriend, Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez.
If you have any information call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555. You can also call that number to provide information for other open cases here in the valley.
