GAYLORD —A Northern Michigan mom is trying to keep her son’s murder case from going cold, nearly a year after her son was killed.
Bobbie Hulburt says her son, Dean Padgett, was found lying face down next to his car outside of his home in Gaylord on September 25th of last year.
Hurlburt said she is not getting a lot of answers and still no arrests in his case.
She said she’s trying to keep people from forgetting that her son’s killer is still walking free.
“Never going to stop. I’ll never stop. I will literally live in a cardboard box if I have to. I will lose. I won’t give up everything I have to do this,” said Hulburt.
Hulburt said she’s frustrated. She said the Otsego County Sheriff’s office who is the lead on the investigation hasn’t shared much information with her or the public.
“Said that it was a targeted situation and that the community has nothing to worry about. They put out two press releases. That was the first one. And the second one was giving out his name. That is the only thing that they have said about my son’s murder,” said Hulburt.
She said she understands they can’t tell her everything, but she feels like she’s being left in the dark.
“Is that not enough evidence? Is it? Did they mess up somewhere? You know? Tell me something. You know, if they messed something up or if they’re just waiting on more evidence, just say something,” said Hulburt.
She said they will be holding a Murder Victim Awareness Day March on the Otsego County courthouse lawn on September 25th; that’s the same day Dean was murdered a year ago.
“It’s awareness. I just, you know, I don’t want people to forget his name, his face. We need to find out who did this. You know, again, it’s just. It’s justice. We’re looking for justice,” said Hulburt.
The second event is a Dean Padgett Poker Run that will be held October 5th.
The proceeds will go to Dean’s four-year-old little girl, Harper.
The Otsego County undersheriff, Matthew Muladore said Padgett’s case is still a priority.
“This is not on the back burner. This is continuing to be investigated by our department, as well as detectives from the Michigan State Police,” said Muladore.
He said they do have some suspects identified and they continue to follow leads.
Muladore said tips have slowed down over time and with no witnesses, it makes it a harder case to crack.
“Nobody knows except the person that committed the crime. And Dean, who obviously can’t help us with that information,” said Muladore.
Hulburt said the family has put up a $7,000 reward to anyone that has a tip that leads to an arrest.
“I’m not going to be quiet, and I get louder and louder as the time goes by because I’m not going to give up,” said Hulburt.
She said police believe it was someone Dean knew.