Richmond mom pleads for answers more than 4 years after sister's murder at Fairfield Court apartment

RICHMOND, Va. — More than 4 years after her sister was murdered, a Richmond mother says the grief has not faded — and something as simple as a doorbell can bring it all rushing back.

"When I hear a doorbell ring, it's like reliving that day over and over and over and over. It's a common sound, you hear it often. Let that doorbell be a reminder on your end that we are out here — we're looking for answers," Tanya Simmons said.

Detectives rang Simmons' doorbell in the early morning of May 6, 2022, with news of a shooting the previous afternoon at a Fairfield Court apartment.

According to Simmons, someone entered her sister's home that afternoon and shot her and Jermarlo Butler, then left them there. A neighbor came hours later and found both with gunshot wounds.

Butler was pronounced dead on the scene. Demetrise Simmons was barely clinging to life inside her Fairfield Court apartment and later died at VCU Medical Center.

Since then, the family has been searching for answers.

"I think about it daily. I do work with the public so I could be standing next to the individual who killed my sister or even knows what happened and it's very devastating," Tanya Simmons said.

For the Simmons family, time has not healed anything. Their questions of who and why remain unanswered. Tanya Simmons is leaning on the East End community to come forward.

"We just need to know and we are begging and pleading for you — look in my heart and I'll tell you I forgive you. Look into my eyes and deeply into my soul. I forgive you but one thing I want you to do is come forward so I know who to continue to pray for," Simmons said.

The family is offering an $11,000 reward for an arrest and conviction in the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Crewell with Richmond Police Department's Major Crimes Unit.

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