LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the an overcast sky quickly transformed to dusk, tearful faces were lit only by the flicker of candles in the dim parking lot of an auto parts store near Louisville's airport. Two families and their friends shared bittersweet memories, warm hugs and plenty of grief two years after police say two of their loved ones, Teressa McCoy and Austin Gamez, were murdered.
But at the 2-year remembrance ceremony, mothers Angela Jernigan and Amy Gamez did have a newly-found hope for eventual closure after a recent development in the case.
"It's amazing how calm I've been through this," Jernigan said, with Gamez by her side. "It's almost scary for me, because when I break, it's going to probably be ugly."
On Dec. 26, 2017, Jernigan's daughter, McCoy, didn't come home to her kids. Gamez's son didn't come home to his kids either.
McCoy was found shot to death the next day inside a car at the auto shop parking lot.
"I kept giving myself false hope that my daughter was going to return home. And the more hours and minutes that ticked by, the more I grew anxious that my gut was right," Jernigan said.
The body of murder victim Austin Gamez was never found. In the months following his disappearance, his family offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.
Gamez's remains have never been found.
His mother said finding him is her ultimate goal.
"You know, find him so we can go somewhere to grieve him. His kids deserve, you know, to know where he is," his mother said through tears.
Both mothers say they still want answers and the truth, but at this year's tearful memorial, both were hopeful because of a recent break in the case: Larry Sauer, 35, and Thomas Lanham, 35, have been indicted on murder charges.
Accprding to Louisville Metro Police Department, search warrants, witness statements and phone and video records led to the break in the case.
Gamez said getting the news felt great.
"Because I thought the case was going cold or going scared or they weren't working on it, because crime's crazy in Louisville," she said.
Now, through constant bouts of grief and rage, the mothers prepare for their next chapter: seeing that justice is served in court.
Sauer has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include two counts of murder. Lanham has been indicted, but according to LMPD, he is not in custody.
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