In Baltimore, 6 In 10 Homicides Unsolved; A Mother Shares Her Pain After Losing Her Only Son
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Benita Henson is one of hundreds of mothers in Baltimore who are waiting for justice. Her son Keith Hamlin was killed in June 2018 on Valley Street in Latrobe Homes.
"That was my son and I loved him, and his life mattered to me and his family. He has two sisters and all of us are still hurting about his death," Henson told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "His murderer is still walking around out here free living his life, and I keep calling down to homicide and it seems like I'm not getting no help from nobody."
For more than four years, she's been waiting for those answers—with nothing from police.
"I call every six months because I don't want to pressure them, but I still want them to keep my son's case open," Henson said.
She said cameras at the scene that could have provided crucial evidence were not working properly.
The pain will never go away.
"Some days I make it through and some days I just wake up with this feeling in my heart like I can't go on, but I know I have to go on," the heartbroken mother said.
Nationally, the number of murders that are solved has declined sharply from more than 80 percent in the 1960s to a little more than 50 percent today.
And in Baltimore, it is worse with the clearance rate at 42 percent. Six in every ten cases are unsolved.
Hellgren spoke to CBS News' chief investigative and senior national correspondent Jim Axelrod, who gained access to a federal law enforcement unit working with city police.
"Baltimore is actually our chance to delve into solutions to this very troubling set of problems," Axelrod said. "So there is some cooperation in Baltimore that involves the federal government, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the overarching concept is that by putting together and sharing intelligence—that maybe traditionally hasn't been done—they can make a dent in what is a troubling trend in terms of homicides in murders in the city of Baltimore."
CBS News found cases involving white homicide victims were far more likely to be solved than for Hispanic and Black victims.
Back in Baltimore, Benita Henson hopes someone knows something that could bring her closure.
"I don't want them to think that I don't care because we do care," she said. "He was my only son."
You can access more stories in the series here.
Axelrod's report on Baltimore airs Friday on CBS Mornings on WJZ.
