12-year-old's killer still at large one year later

ATLANTA - A family has renewed their efforts to find the person responsible for killed a 12-year-old boy. 

David Mack was found shot to death in a drainage ditch near his grandmother’s house last February. 

12-YEAR-OLD MURDER VICTIM LAID TO REST AS KILLER REMAINS ON THE RUN

One year later, the killer is still free.

"We dream about it," Mack's aunt Ayana Riley explained. "We go to bed with it." 

As the days and months go by, that pain in Riley's heart only deepens.

She'll never comprehend the heinous murder of her nephew.

"When people say that it's gonna get better over time, it's not true," she explained. 

This family's better days were before February 9, 2020, the last time anyone saw the seventh grader alive.

Loved ones said David left his grandmother's home near Shirley Street in southwest Atlanta to go play football with friends, but he never returned home.

"I have grandkids that was out there that day that having nightmares now," Riley detailed. 

The constant nightmares are about having to relive the moment they found David's body in a drainage ditch near his grandmother's house the next day.

Loved ones said according to the autopsy report they recently received he was shot six times and had severe injuries, a sign that he may have been beaten.

"I've done everything I could," his Glenda Mack explained. "I come on TV and tell them please help and we've canvassed several times and so I'm still there's gonna be someone that comes forward."

The family's sorrow over this past year is magnified by their frustration with how David's case is being handled.

They said detectives haven't shared any details with them about the case and attempts to meet with them fall on deaf ears.

"When we reach out, sometimes it feels like you get excuses about all of the other crimes that are going on  in the neighborhood and it just make me feel like 'okay well this been a whole year. You can't Bring those crimes up to me and this been a whole year,'" Riley said. 

The family said they're leaning into their faith and the good times with David as they continue to navigate through this space of insurmountable tragedy.

"I continue to pray for David. I've always prayed for all of my grandkids," Mack said. 

The family remains optimistic that someone will come forward with information especially since so many houses are in that area where Davi’d  body was found.

FOX 5 has reached out to the Atlanta Police Department regarding the family's concerns.

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