If you walk by Chief Sealth International High School in West Seattle, it’s hard to miss the memorial for Ka’Don Brown, on a tree near the school’s sign.
It’s where Brown was found shot to death almost six months ago. It’s been six long and emotional months for his mother, Maxine Brooks.
"This pain really hurts… It aches," she told us. "My head hurts and sometimes I can't function because I need to know what happened to my son. I know someone out there knows and I'm praying to god I get justice for my son."
And six months of waiting, but because Brown was killed in Seattle, Brooks will likely be left waiting even longer.
People are getting away with murder in Washington and with no justice and closure, it’s leaving families stuck in a cycle of grief.
"It’s been hard for me to just sit here and wonder what’s going on with this case," said Brooks, "I want answers."
Using police department data reported to the FBI, we’re tracking a growing number of homicides. Of those growing cases, we’ve found fewer cases are being solved-- or "cleared."
FOX 13 dug into the numbers.
The city of Kent is already reporting a violent and deadly 2023. In the summer, they announced they’d already surpassed the number of murders they saw last year. In 2019 the city of Kent investigated four homicides. Of those, just one was solved, or "cleared" in police terms. In 2020 out of eight homicides reported, three were cleared, and in 2021 out of the 12 homicides investigated by Kent city police, just six-- 50% were cleared. Those are the most recent numbers from the FBI.
South to Tacoma, a similar trend. In 2019 the city investigated 17 homicides and 11 were cleared.
In 2020 Tacoma police investigated 28 homicides and 15 were cleared.
In 2021, 30 homicides were investigated and 16 were cleared.
In Seattle before the pandemic, a little more than half of all homicide cases were cleared. But in the latest data from 2021, the clearance rate dropped to just 24%. That means if you’re killed in Seattle, the suspect has a 75% chance of getting away with murder.
