Mother Of Slain Special Needs Teen Mourns, Speaks Out

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Patrick Caruthers, 19, was gunned down -- in broad daylight -- while he was sitting at a picnic table in South Los Angeles last month.

Detectives remain puzzled. Who would shoot a teenager with special needs? Why? He had a learning disability and a speech impediment.

Police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot him in the back numerous times.

Friday evening, CBS2 and KCAL9 reporter Suraya Fadel spoke to the teen's grieving mother, Gail Sears.

Said Sears, "It's painful. Life will never be the same. There is an emptiness."

Sears says she looks at pictures and home videos of her son every day. They are her treasures.

She wants her son's killer found. "Patrick deserves justice. No mother deserves to bury her child."

Sears has left his bedroom untouched.  On his bed, she's placed his favorite basketball jersey, baseball caps and the items he had with him the day he was killed.

The void in her home is deep.

She showed Fadel where she last saw her son -- before he went to his favorite park, where he did volunteer work.

Sears is grateful for one thing. " I did get a chance to tell him I loved him."

Sears cannot make sense of the tragedy, her son was never in any kind of trouble. She  wants justice. "Whoever did this, they know who they are."

It's been one month since the murder. Next week, Caruthers would have turned 20.

Fadel reports there is no suspect description and few leads.

Sears does not want to see this case go cold. "I pray that it doesn't."

Related Link:

Police Offer $50K Reward To Find Killer Of South LA Special Needs Teen