Christmas Eve cold case: Family waits for answers in woman’s 2013 murder
Mikkah Lyke was 14 years old when her mother was shot and killed.
By Kayla James
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — A Des Moines woman is pleading for help in finding the person responsible of her mother’s death.
Johnita Clemons was shot and killed on Christmas Eve back in 2013. Des Moines Police say someone fired several rounds from the street inside the house.
Her children were not home at the time.
“We were both with our grandma,” said Mikkah Lyke, who was 14 years old when her mother was shot and killed. “We just pulled up, and all of the police and the crime scene and detectives were there.”
Lyke is now 22 years old. She has three kids of her own, including 4-year-old Riley.
“This would be her partner in crime, because my daughter loves everything she loved,” said Lyke. “She reminds me of my mom so much.”
Investigators don’t believe Clemons was meant to be the target.
Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek says investigators started following leads after the shooting. Those leads brought them to people who still aren’t cooperating.
“There’s one person that we’re fairly confident has the information we need,” said Sgt. Paul Parizek. “We’ve visited with him multiple times over the years since the murder, but he won’t budge.”
Police are once again asking for people to speak up.
“This is another case where you’re close to the holidays and those are great memories for those families, but this family’s got to look back on December 24th of 2013 with tears in their eyes because they didn’t spend it with their mom,” said Sgt. Parizek.
This Christmas is the first one Mikkah Lyke says she’s celebrating since before her mom passed away. She’s celebrating for her kids.
Now she hopes someone out there will share what they know to close this case for her family’s sake.
“They took a very, very kind person. A very loving person,” said Lyke. “It’s especially not fair to her. I just feel like there’s no justice until my mom gets justice. She’s not to being officially resting in peace.”
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