Mother pleads for answers in her son's murder: 'I know somebody knows what happened'
Mother pleads for answers in her sons murder: I know somebody knows what happened
It's been two years since a Seattle family got the news that their son was murdered while out with friends at a Kent hotel. On Tuesday, they want to remind the community that their son's unsolved murder isn't just another statistic, another terrible crime. This is their lives, now shattered forever. Terez Bardwell's mother can't get the nightmare of Dec. 3, 2017, out of her mind. "I went to the crime scene and I seen my baby lying there on the ground, and I could see his shoes and his coat. They had him covered up but I could see all the blood...There was just so much blood everywhere. It was heartbreaking," says Tiwania Bardwell. At 25, Terez was gone. He'd been shot multiple times as he walked out of the Kent Red Lion Inn on that cold December night, as Saturday spilled into the early hours of Sunday. "I couldn't stay there to see my baby. I couldn't stand seeing him on the ground, and I regret that I didn't stay there until the coroner picked him up. I have that one regret that I didn't stay with my baby because he died alone," says Tiwania. Terez's family is still in the dark about much of what happened that night, but Tiwania says she does that know her son was robbed as he lay dying in the parking lot outside the hotel. She says she also knows there were witnesses.
SEATTLE -- It's been two years since a Seattle family got the news that their son was murdered while out with friends at a Kent hotel. On Tuesday, they want to remind the community that their son's unsolved murder isn't just another statistic, another terrible crime. This is their lives, now shattered forever.
Terez Bardwell's mother can't get the nightmare of Dec. 3, 2017, out of her mind.
"I went to the crime scene and I seen my baby lying there on the ground, and I could see his shoes and his coat. They had him covered up but I could see all the blood...There was just so much blood everywhere. It was heartbreaking," says Tiwania Bardwell.
At 25, Terez was gone. He'd been shot multiple times as he walked out of the Kent Red Lion Inn on that cold December night, as Saturday spilled into the early hours of Sunday.
"I couldn't stay there to see my baby. I couldn't stand seeing him on the ground, and I regret that I didn't stay there until the coroner picked him up. I have that one regret that I didn't stay with my baby because he died alone," says Tiwania.
Terez's family is still in the dark about much of what happened that night, but Tiwania says she does that know her son was robbed as he lay dying in the parking lot outside the hotel. She says she also knows there were witnesses.
"I can't sleep, I don't sleep. I don't feel like I can rest until I have justice for my son. I know somebody knows what happened."
Losing her only son, Tiwania knows life will never be the same. Sometimes she feels people don't want to be around her because as hard as she tries, sometimes her pain and her depression are hard to conceal, especially around this time of year.
But she knows if she could just get some answers and have her son's killer behind bars, she'd be finally be able to truly grieve her son. And life, even if just ever so slightly, might get a little easier.
"That is half of my heart. He's the reason I'm alive. My kids are the reason I live. And if I didn't have a daughter I probably wouldn't be here now. I used to wake up feeling guilty for waking up because he's not here. He was so young and had so much to live for. He had a daughter to raise who he loved dearly. I would've gave my life for my son."
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering a cash reward of $1,000 for a tip that leads to an arrest in the shooting. Submit an anonymous tip at www.P3Tips.com or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).