LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jodi Thompson is part of a growing list of survivors in Louisville, left to grieve the loss of a loved one with no answers, no arrests and no closure.
"If you want to kill someone, you need to do it here in Louisville," she said. "Because you'll get away with it."
Pati Holmes knows the feeling. She's Thompson's sister, and together, it has been five years since Tom Holmes and Thomas Holmes — their brother and nephew — were killed in a Pleasure Ridge Park home.
"For my brother's sake, I wish (police) would relook at it closely," Holmes said. "I don't know. Should I be angry at somebody or just frustrated? Or should I just hurt? And it's all shoved in one little box, and it's hard to contain it sometimes."
All this time later, the case has remained cold. At first, it was reported as a possible home-invasion-turned homicide. But there are new leads in the case, a person of interest and a thought among investigators that the murders may not have happened as first thought.
In fact, Holmes and Thompson no longer believe that initial story. They say the younger Holmes, Tom's son, came to the house with the person who fired the fatal shots. And that person may have been connected to a Mexican cartel.
Jodi Thompson and Pati Holmes
"I had a detective tell me that he knew," Holmes said. "They knew who did it."
A spokesperson said he could not definitely confirm a connection to the cartel.
"It's a lot of trauma and a lot of loss to ask of family and then not have any answers," Thompson said.
Since the Holmes murder, 360 homicides have gone unsolved in Louisville, leaving 360 families to grieve in this same way. And data shows the problem is getting worse. Sixty-five percent of the homicides from 2021 remain unsolved.
"How long does this keep going?" Holmes said. "How long do one-third of the people get caught? That's not a very safe city. I grew up in this city ... It's not the same city."
The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that lead to an arrest and conviction. You can call the tip line at 574-LMPD and remain anonymous.
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