Approximately 40 people braved rain and wind Wednesday evening for a bittersweet candlelight vigil in Alsip marking the one-year anniversary of Tanessia Ray’s stabbing death.
Family and friends began gathering at 6:45 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. ceremony on the 4300 block of West Park Lane Drive, where the mother of two was brutally stabbed to death in the street-level apartment where she and her two children had lived for nearly three years.
“It was raining when we found her, remember?” Tanessia’s mother, Barbara Ray Dudley, reminded those in attendance, who sought shelter as rain began drenching the cul-de-sac approximately 20 minutes before the vigil was to begin.
Gradually, the shower turned into a drizzle, allowing everyone to return to the street, bearing candles, purple balloons and posters showing Tanessia’s photos.
Felicia Smith-Brooks, a minister with the Shining Light Missionary Baptist Church, was the main speaker and reminded those at the vigil to trust in God for answers and mercy.
She also prayed that God would help Tanessia’s killer “see the error of their ways” and confess. “We ask God that you send justice soon.”
As Smith-Brooks concluded, participants released the balloons, which sailed into the western sky and the slowly parting clouds. Seconds later, a rainbow materialized in the eastern sky.
Dudley remained positive during the ceremony, but voiced frustration afterward about the lack of witnesses in Tanessia’s slaying.
The police “know who did it,” she said. “They just need to prove it. They need neighbors and [the murderer’s] family to come forward. I know somebody out there knows something, and I believe they are covering up.”
Deputy Chief Jay Miller said Thursday that “the victim knew her assailant.” He said the Cook County Major Crimes Task Force is assisting with the “ongoing” investigation.
Miller said investigators are still regularly submitting potential evidence to the Illinois State Police Crime Lab for analysis and are routinely reviewing new leads and potential evidence.
He declined to discuss the motive for Tanessia’s murder, or how the killer got into her apartment.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and loved ones of Tanessia Ray, and we are asking for anyone who may have information, no matter how insignificant they think it may be, to please contact us at the Alsip Police Department Tip Line: (708) 385-6902, ext. 246,” Miller said.
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Dudley, who has hired a private investigator to supplement the official investigation into Tanessia’s killing, also set up a confidential line that isn’t associated with the police: (847) 579-9771.
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.