Family demands justice 1 year after 20-year-old woman killed in Brighton Park shooting

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Saturday, September 21, 2024
Family demands justice 1 year after woman killed in SW Side shooting
Amaris Trujillo's family demanded justice Friday, one year after the 20-year-old woman was shot and killed in a Chicago shooting in Brighton Park.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It has been one year since a young woman was shot and killed while she was riding in a car with her mother and boyfriend.

Chicago police still have not made any arrests in the murder of Amaris Trujillo. Her loved ones held a gathering filled with heartache Friday as they called for justice.

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Family and friends gathered Friday evening at Promontory Point, not only in mourning, but also demanding answers exactly one year since the 20-year-old was shot and killed.

Family members told ABC7 that the Highland, Indiana woman was in a car with her then-boyfriend, who was driving, and her mother, who was in the back seat, when the shooting happened.

"It was the hardest thing ever," the victim's aunt, Alma Castruita, said. "Her family isn't the same anymore."

The days have turned into to months... now a year... And it's even harder because we have no justice for her.
Alma Castruita, Amaris Trujillo aunt

They had just left Trujillo's grandmother's house when, police said, the group was traveling down Rockwell near 43rd Street in Brighton Park when someone on foot opened fire at the car.

"They were just nonstop gunshots over and over and over," Castruita said. "When she opened up her eyes, she just looked over, she seen her daughter's head tilted over."

All three passengers were hit by gunfire, police said. Trujillo was the only one who died, and family members say she was not the intended target. A bullet is still lodged in her mother's leg, ABC7 was told.

As time passes by, the heartache for this family remains unmoved.

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"The days have turned into to months... now a year," Castruita said. "The pain is just as it was yesterday. And it's even harder because we have no justice for her."

Exactly one year later, loved ones are still seeking justice and are frustrated that police have made no arrests.

"Holidays, everything -- it's changed," Castruita said. "We're missing a big part of our family."

The solemn night ended with balloon release at the exact time the young woman died at the hospital a year ago.

"We want some justice for her," Castruita said. "Bring some kind of closure to our family."