DENVER — The mother of a Denver man murdered 23 years ago is demanding his case be turned over to the the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Thad Tigges was shot on the city's northwest side in January 2001.
Phyllis Tigges, Thad's mother, remembers it vividly.
"It was Jan. 25th, which is my birthday that he was murdered," Tigges recalled. "The world just fell apart right there. Hasn't been the same since."
On Jan. 25, 2001, Denver Police were called to North Newton Street. They found 33-year-old Thad Tigges shot dead inside his home. Three years after his death, the Tigges family announced a $100,000 reward for any information that would lead to an arrest.
"I hope and pray that there will be someone that will come forward," Phyllis Tigges said to 9NEWS in 2004. "Give us a little bit of a lead or clue to go ahead and arrest these people who did this brutal thing to our son."
At the time Phyllis had hoped it would be enough, but time has proven otherwise. Police have not made any arrests in the case.
"Yea it's very hard, it's very hard," Tigges said this week as she fought back tears. "He was a beautiful, beautiful person."
Despite the decades that have passed, Tigges is continuing to push for answers. She worries about the handling of the case and wants Denver Police to have someone from CBI look into it.
"They're not honoring our wishes at all and that's very very upsetting to me," she admitted. "If they would have done their job from the beginning, I don't think we'd be here talking today."
For 23 years, so much of this case has remained the same. All Tigges can hope is that soon something will change. She believes relationships and loyalties may have altered over time.
"Please please please come forward and do the right thing," she pleaded. "Before I die I would sure like to know."
9NEWS reached out to the Denver Police Department for comment on Tigges' request to move the case and they released the following statement:
"Investigators have followed all investigative leads in this case and continue working to identify the person(s) responsible for this murder. In June, DPD posted a social media video featuring this case in an effort to generate new leads, and continue encouraging anyone with information about the case to contact investigators. The Denver Police Department shares in the family’s concern that a person has not been held accountable for the murder, and sympathizes with their grief."