Little Village Justice Tree helps families pay tribute to victims of unsolved crimes
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Christmas tree on the city's Southwest Side, the Little Village Justice Tree, is helping families pay homage to victims of violence in cases that have never been closed.
With a little bit of help from his grandfather, 4-year-old Jacob Abdallah Jr. helped to place ornaments with pictures of his late mother and father's faces on the tree Sunday.
They should be here us on this holiday decorating the tree with usMelinda Abdallah, mother of gun violence victim
The young boy's father, Jacob Abdallah Sr., was shot and killed days before he was born in 2019. Then, just a few months ago, Abdallah Jr.'s mother, Perla Andrade, was killed in a hit and run on I-55.
"We shouldn't have to put our children's faces on the side of a Christmas tree for remembrance and justice," said Melinda Abdallah, who is Jacob Abdallah Sr.'s mother. "They should be here us on this holiday decorating the tree with us."
Members of the Little Village Community Council's Committee for Mothers and Fathers United for Justice came together to both decorate the tree and wrap Christmas gifts that will be handed out to community children later this week.
Arturo Daza's son, 25-year-old Israel Mendez, was shot and killed in Forest Park on March 20, 2021.
"Our Christmases are sad," Daza said in Spanish. "Because we look at his place at the table and feel his absence."
The pain is the same for Elizabeth Brant and her family. Her brother, 33-year-old Jesus Brant Jr., was shot and killed in Brighton Park on January 22, 2022. No one was ever arrested.
"They have some information, but not all," Brant said. "We don't have any witnesses, so that makes it a lot harder."
And then there was the family of Jessica Castro, a 23-year-old mother of two who was shot and killed during a fight in Brighton Park.
"So now we're the ones taking care of them," said Baltazar Castro, Jessica's father. "We cannot even explain to the kids what happened to their mother."
With the help of the Little Village Community Council, the Castros have been able to re-open their daughter's case in their quest for justice.
