KANSAS CITY, Mo — Corlis Davis wrote a letter in the Kansas City Call in 1992, months after her son was killed.
"This article was a cry out to the Black community," Davis said. "My son was the 91st homicide of 1992. By the time we got to November, I wrote this it was 142 [homicides]."
Her sentiments in The Call remain the same when it comes to her son, Mark Davis, and crime in general.
"If you got community members or family members who are being foolish, you need to pull them aside and tell them a foolish man is unstable in all his ways," Davis said. "How long are you gonna keep being foolish?"
Davis got a knock on her door that her child was killed days before he would've turned 19 years old.
She said her son was around the corner from their house playing basketball with his friends.
A car that passed by multiple times came back and shot them.
Davis was hit in the chest and died instantly.
"That was the worst day of my life," she said.
She spent many days from then on trying to help change the trajectory of young people before it's too late by associating herself with anti-violence groups like ADHOC, speaking to students about crime solutions.
Davis started her own ministry, called Diamonds in the Rough, where she mentors young women through a six-week series.
"Let's come up with some conflict resolution skills," she said. "Let's go into the homes and help these single mothers who have lots of kids and don't know how to handle it."
After spending the past 32 years missing her son, Davis still hopes there is someone out there who's had a change of heart and will help police solve her son's case.
"I know nothing is gonna bring him back, but we would just like some closure so we can get some justice," she said.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department does not have a dedicated cold case unit, but they have an unsolved homicide tracker on their website.
If a lead or a tip comes in, they will investigate.
Every three to four years, Davis checks in with a detective to see if there are any updates.
"If you know something, for real, say something, 'cause you didn't just take my son's life because of whatever you had going on," she said. "You affected 30-40 people's lives who will never be the same."
The Greater KC Crime Stopper's tips database only goes back to 2014.
Since then, there have been no tips in Davis' murder.
The reward remains up to $25,000 for tips that lead to an arrest.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including neighborhoods in Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
