We were denied a thorough investigation into her death.

I had a visit from the deputy prosecutor shortly after Aaliyah’s death. He was attempting to deliver her a summons to appear in court. He claims she was an eye witness to an incident where a trailer home was shot up. I had to inform him that she would not be on the witness list for the prosecution because she is no longer alive. He kindly gave me his condolences. My home was treated like a crime scene the night of my daughters death & police at the scene told me that this was necessary for their investigation. The coroner also advised me that an autopsy would be done on my daughter because although they suspect that she has died as a result of an overdose, there was no evidence at my home to support that. Weeks went by & I never heard anything from the police regarding said investigation. So I took it upon myself to call the Richmond Indiana police department myself & I was redirected to the “lead detective” at this department. This person decides what cases are presented to the prosecutor in an attempt to prosecute individuals suspected of a crime. I introduced myself to him & told him that I was following up on the investigation into my daughters death. He said “your daughters case didn’t warrant an investigation because she was a known drug addict”.  I asked him how does he know her cause of death when we don’t even have the autopsy back yet. He claimed she had labs drawn at the hospital that confirmed that. I told him that I know that there wasn’t any paraphernalia at my house. He then claimed his officers found a syringe by her body. I asked him what was done with that needle & he replied “we disposed of it properly.”  I told him that I know who gave her the stuff that killed her because I had her unlocked phone. I offered to bring her phone to him to see & he yelled at me saying “I told you her case didn’t warrant an investigation so that will not be necessary!” I know it has been 5 years since my daughters death but I just can’t let go of the fact of knowing that this “lead detective” at RPD continues to get away with not investigating any of the overdose deaths. It became Indiana state law in 2017 that all overdose deaths must be thoroughly investigated but this detective is breaking the law by refusing to conduct a thorough investigation. My daughter was getting ready to be a witness for the prosecution that could’ve put someone in jail for a long time. I am not the only one who believes that she was given a “hot shot” to silence her testimony. She wasn’t in an active addiction at the time of her death. She was doing good for over 7 months.  I realize that she will probably never get justice but I’m hoping by me speaking out about the corruption going on at this police department that other families may get their justice when a death dealer contributes to their family members demise. Things need to change. Too many people are dying.  Here are the facts from the CDC - more adults between 18-45 died of Fentanyl overdoses in 2020 than any other leading cause of death including COVID-19, motor vehicle accidents, cancer, & suicide.  Not investigating these overdose deaths is only going to continue to make the problem worse. #RIPLingLing  #MyChildMattered