Mother Seeks Answers 14 Years After Son's Unsolved Homicide

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Clifton Hibbert Jr.'s mother, Donna Brown, still looks for answers 14 years after he was killed in an unsolved double homicide.

Brown held a news conference Monday with her daughter, Ayanna Brown, and Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón to raise awareness for her son's and all unsolved homicide cases, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles. The news conference was held at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles.

Hibbert and his friend Kenneth Patterson were fatally shot in South Los Angeles on March 28, 2008, just two months shy of Hibbert's graduation from California State University, Northridge, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Hibbert was 22 at the time, and his friend was 23, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.

Authorities have yet to identify responsible parties 14 years after the double homicide, according to the Daily News.

"It took me nine months to carry my son in my stomach, 22 years to raise him, and it took one bullet to take his breath away," Donna Brown said Monday.

Donna Brown has worked hard to keep her son's story in the public eye by organizing frequent news conferences, media interviews and prayer services, and she founded an organization in her son's honor, The Encouragement Project.

As many as 25 percent of homicides are never solved, Gascón said in a news release Tuesday. Gascón affirmed his support for victims of unsolved cases and vowed to "build trust with the community and law enforcement partners" to help solve such cases.

His office will request additional funding from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to support the county's Bureau of Victim Services.

The county for years has offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the person or people responsible for Hibbert's death, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Patch reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department for comment on the homicide case.