KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chad Donaldson, 36, was murdered in Belton on Dec. 22, 2014, and a decade later, his mother is still searching for answers.
Over the course of a decade, KSHB 41 followed Jenny Hite's push for justice in her son's case and other unsolved murder cases in the metro.
"The pain was too close to home, I had to stop working with other families," explained Hite, Donaldson's mother. "It's like a dark cloud comes over and you feel total anguish and despair. Then it passes and you can keep on going."
Corey's Network is a local victim's advocate non-profit organization in Kansas City. Hite became the group's first client searching for justice following the organization's 2014 inception.
"If they would arrest and convict Chad's murderer, it wouldn't bring Chad back," she said. "But, I feel like a page would close."
Donaldson was shot and killed a few blocks from his home in Belton, Missouri. He frequented a QuikTrip gas station nearby and was reportedly seen at the store before he was killed.
His mom described him as a "night owl" but was a kind and caring man.
"There was a police officer knocking at my door at 2:00 in the morning saying she had been shot," she recalled.
She claims the Belton Police Department would not release details that night surrounding the incident. Following the knock on the door, Donaldson was transported to an area hospital to be treated for his wounds, where he later died.
"It's so unfair that he's (Chad's killer) still living his life and doing whatever he wants, and Chad lost his 10 years ago now," she added.
Hite suspects her son's killer was her son's acquaintance. Prior KSHB 41 reports state insufficient evidence keeps Donaldson's case out of court.
The Belton Police Department told KSHB 41 that Donaldson's case remains active and cannot release additional information at the risk of jeopardizing the investigation.
"I want for everyone including the Police Department to know how bad it hurts," Hite said. "And how much worse it hurts to not have the case solved.”
Hite recently became a widow, losing her husband in October.
This Christmas feels increasingly new, coupled with the anniversary of her son's murder and hitting her wit's end, she began writing poetry.
She self-published a book on Amazon titled "Poems and Thoughts of Chad: Life, Love, Faith, and Death."
"I've had other people that bought the book that have gotten in touch with me and told me that it really did help them," she explained. "...grief does change over time...The most important thing I learned was to be kind to myself and let myself be sad when I was sad."
During Hite's visit with KSHB 41, she took a pen and paper and wrote a poem dedicated to her son:
Ten years have passed, and you are still gone.
You took a piece of my heart.
I will never forget the love, the laughter, the joy, the tears, everything that made you, you.
I love you, Chad.
I miss you so.
Right now I'm feeling blue.
"This feeling, this hurt, this anger will soften," she shared. "I accept that there's not a thing I can do about it."
Hite continues to look forward to the upcoming Christmas holiday, searching for the positive this season.
"I know he's okay," Hite said. "I want him to be remembered as a really kind man. He was taken too soon... With it being 10 years, the emotions kind of mellowed. I will always feel this passion in my heart — I want justice for my son.”
Donaldson's family offers a $4,000 reward with information regarding his murder.
Anyone with details in Donaldson's murder is asked to contact the Belton Police Department at (816) 331-1500. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS or tips@kc-crime.org.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.
