TOLEDO (WTOL) - A grieving family is asking for answers in Chris Dickerson’s death.
"I don't understand. He was important, he was mine. And nobody could’ve, should've taken him from me,” Tracena Dickerson said, sobbing.
Family members felt county agencies failed to communicate, both among themselves and with Dickerson’s family; that communication chiefly surrounding Andrew Cecil’s release from jail.
Police found Dickerson’s body in a wooded area in Medina Township over the weekend. His discovery comes after Tracena Dickerson reported her son missing February 18.
Chris Dickerson was scheduled to testify against Andrew Cecil at the end of January. Cecil is accused of attempting to murder Dickerson, by brutally stabbing him last May.
Yet on January 19, Dickerson sent his mother photos of himself bloodied and bruised. Tracena said she urged her son to go to police after he was beaten, but he was too scared, saying the man who beat him told him he shouldn’t testify against Cecil. She said she believes the man who beat him shares a gang affiliation with Cecil.
Tracena said she last heard from her son on January 21 when he posted to Facebook about getting his belongings from an apartment he had been staying at in Adrian. She contacted the Adrian Police Department twice within the past month about his disappearance. Tracena said the detective on the original stabbing case returned her calls a couple of weeks later, telling her to hold off on filing a missing persons report.
“He said he had a couple things he was looking into and to just to sit tight, hold on, he would get back to me. And then on the 18th, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I had to make that first step of reporting him missing,” Tracena said.
After filling a missing person’s report with the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office, Tracy called the courthouse and discovered through the Victim’s Rights office that Andrew Cecil had been released from jail.
Court documents show Cecil was originally being held on a $1 million bond, but was then released on his own recognizance January 31.
Family members said they didn’t understand how Cecil could be released with just his signature on a piece of paper, stating he’ll return to court when necessary.
“Nobody ever contacted me, didn’t contact Chris. I would have gotten Chris out of Adrian, I would have gotten him away from here had I known he [Cecil] was out,” Tracena said through tears.
Additionally, family members said that even the sheriff’s detectives investigating after Chris’s death didn’t seem to know of Cecil’s release.
“They said he’s not out of jail. I said, ‘Yes he is.’ And they got right on the phone and called down to the county jail, and the detective told the other detective, ‘He’s out,’” Teresa Austin, Dickerson’s aunt, said.
“Where was the communication and why? I don’t understand that,” Tracena said.
However, the undersheriff said that they did know of Cecil’s release. He said the sheriff’s office took Dickerson’s missing persons case seriously from the beginning.
“Yes, the sheriff’s office was aware of that. Like I said, we worked with Adrian City Police, and so our deputies and our detectives were aware of the situation,” Undersheriff Troy Bevier said.
Yet Bevier said he doesn’t know when detectives became aware of Cecil’s release. He said that the sheriff’s office continues to tirelessly investigate.
As of now, no arrests have been made in relation to the case.
Ultimately, Chris’s family said they just want justice for his death.
“This has been such a roller coaster that no mother should have to get on,” Tracena said.
The family is waiting for the cause of death and for Dickerson’s body to be released so they can lay him to rest. In the meantime, they are raising money for funeral expenses and Dickerson’s young daughter.
If you’d like to support them, you can donate to their GoFundMe.
