In the first 51 weeks of 2018, 128 people were killed in Jacksonville. Of those cases, 106 were classified as murders. Just 30 of the murders were cleared by arrest, and three more were closed by the death of the person who committed the crime.
That means 69 percent of the murders are still open investigations by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
In the last five days alone, eight people were killed in Jacksonville. Three of those killings happened in the Paxon area off Edgewood Avenue, only blocks away from each other.
Donald Foy, president of MAD DADS, a group known for helping families of slain victims, said people need to start telling police what they know.
"We just had all the shootings over the weekend," Foy said. "With the technology, with all of the officers we put on last year, we are going to continue having (unsolved murders) until the community breaks the code of silence."
In addition to dozens of unsolved murders from this year, there are many from previous years that remain under investigation. Latasha Hobbs' 18-year-old son, Maurice, was killed nearly two years while walking his Southside Estates neighborhood.
"We’ve had no arrests in our case. I fight for him every single day," Hobbs said. "I also need the help of our community. Someone, somewhere knows something, and I need for them to speak up. Not just in my son’s case, but in all the cases that are unsolved."
Hobbs tries to help other families who are in her situation.
"What I want to happen is for these families to know they’re not alone and that I’ve been able to save at least one life in honor of my son," Hobbs said. "I want justice and change for him. I will honor him every step of the way as long as my feet is grounded on this earth."
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