FOX 4's Trackdown helps woman find her long-lost mother, give her a proper burial
The Brief
FOX 4 viewers helped Dallas police find the 15-year-old suspect accused of killing Marie Brooks while she was asleep in an Oak Cliff strip center parking lot.
Viewers also helped police find family members for Brooks, who was homeless.
Brooks' daughter said she's actually been searching for her mother for the past 40 years.
Even though Ashley Oliver can no longer have a relationship with her mother, she's grateful for the chance to provide her a proper burial.
DALLAS - FOX 4's Trackdown series typically helps to put police detectives on the trail of suspects. This time, in addition to taking a suspected killer off the streets, it also helped a woman find her long-lost mother.
The backstory
Marie Brooks lived alone on the streets of Dallas either by choice or by circumstances.
On April 30, she was shot and killed while asleep at a strip center near South Lancaster Road and Kiest Boulevard.
Security video featured on Trackdown showed her killer walking past her. He then came back, pulled out a handgun, and shot Brooks in the chest before running away.
Viewers helped to identify the 15-year-old juvenile suspect within 24 hours of the story airing.
He was taken to the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center and charged with murder. But his name will not be released because he is a minor.
Police then turned to the media for help finding 60-year-old Brooks' family members.
What they're saying
Ashley Oliver invited Shaun Rabb to her mother's funeral as a way to thank him.
She explained that she and her brother were given up when she was just 3 years old.
"She never came back to claim us," Oliver said. "So, I guess long story short, 40 years later, I have to claim her. So, I'm here to claim her."
Oliver said throughout the years, she's never stopped looking for her mother.
"I appreciate you airing that because without that, I wouldn't have been able to find her. So, yeah, it's life-changing and bittersweet, I guess, because I didn't get that opportunity to have that relationship with her. So, it's kind of hard. But yet I know like a full circle, God made no mistakes. So, I'm thankful for that," she said.
Even though she'll never be able to have a relationship with her mother, Oliver said she is grateful for the closure.
Local perspective
The J. Alexander Law Firm donated a casket for Brooks' burial. In Bloom Flowers donated the arrangements. The Lincoln Funeral Home & Memorial Park also assisted with the funeral.
"She asked if we would be willing to assist her with laying her mother to rest, giving her a proper burial, considering the circumstances and, of course, you know our answer was yes. We were willing to do so to serve this community and provide a service to this family," said Devontai Gaines, the funeral director.
One Rugged Cross Church Pastor Al Green said that although there was family separation, he believes Brooks sacrificed her role as a mother so that her children could have a better life.
"It was a mother that looked at the whole situation and knew that it had grabbed her but she said not my daughter," he said.
The Source
FOX 4's Shaun Rabb talked to Marie Brooks' daughter, Ashley Oliver, to gather details for this story. Some details were provided by the Dallas Police Department in past news coverage.
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