13 years later, murder of Southwest Philly woman remains unsolved
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Thirteen years ago, Tara Brooks was shot and killed in her home in Philadelphia. No one has been arrested in the case, and the mystery continues to haunt her family.
"She said, 'I'll see y'all tomorrow,'" Khalif Ali, Brooks' brother, said.
And that was it.
That was the last time Khalif Ali saw his sister.
"My sister was murdered in 2009, Nov. 17," Ali said.
Just before Thanksgiving in 2009, a woman known for her laid-back, funny ways was shot dead inside her Southwest Philadelphia home.
"I've been putting her picture on my phone since that day," Ali said while showing the lock screen on her phone.
The memories for Ali, an advocate for so many of Philadelphia's gun violence victims, have not faded.
His eyes brighten when remembering his sister, Tara.
"My sister had a habit," Ali said. "For anyone that met her when she leave you she always said, 'Love you, later.' So she said, 'Love you, later.' And she was out the door."
Police believe the case stemmed from a botched robbery. The house along 6100 Upland was tossed about.
"When I walked in that house, the robbery, the home invasions, when I walked in there when I see the steps removed off of the house and the toilet removed I say they've been in here for a long time," Ali said.
The murder case of Tara Monique Brooks has suffered from many of the factors that frustrate homicide investigations.
Ali knows them all too well.
He's lost more than a half dozen family members too, all of them shot.
"The mothers, the children, the families, every picture you see here of my family members, except two, and that's the one with Yullio's son and Tamika's son," Ali said. "Those are the only two people that aren't blood related to me."
Do you remember Tara Brooks of Southwest Philadelphia?
Do you have information that could help police solve the case from 2009?
Call 215-686-TIPS.
