NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — 14 months later, 28-year-old Mariah Wilson's homicide is still unsolved. She was killed back September 4, 2020 in her home in Niagara Falls.
"We need justice. Period," Julia Stevens, Wilson's cousin said, "This should be devastating. When a young mother of her two children was murdered in such a brutal way."
Wilson's family said Wilson was beaten in front of her 10-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. WKBW's I-team submitted a FOIL request to the Niagara Falls Police Department which states Wilson's cause of death was "gunfire."
"There are no words to describe how horrible this experience has been. These children witnessed something that our minds, images of your mother, of your parent, that no child is ever supposed to experience," Stevens said.
14 months later, no one has been arrested.
"The last update was they had a suspect, and they had to petition him for his DNA. That's what they're waiting for. That update was over a month ago," Courtney Wilson, Wilson's cousin, said.
Wilson's family said the Niagara County District Attorney's Office refuses to name their suspect, which causes them a great deal of pain.
"You don't know if it's the person you see at the same gas station once a week. You don't know if it's a friend of a friend who you've encountered before. You start to look at people, even people close to you, and question things that you never would have questioned. That is a sick feeling to have to look internally and have no guarantee that the people around you aren't responsible for the most horrific thing that's ever happened," Stevens said.
"Maybe it's you. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's you. Are they around the kids? We don't know," Courtney said.
So now, Wilson's family is begging the DA's office to return their calls. They are afraid the person who took Wilson's life is someone they know.
"Name your suspect. Name your suspect. Put this to bed. Stop dragging your feet, because that's essentially what it feels like to an entire family full of people," Courtney said, "You have an entire family sitting here with a knot in their stomach for 14 months."
The Niagara County District Attorney's Office said the case is being actively investigated.
