Saturday was quiet in downtown New Iberia. A few cars were moving down Main Street, passengers on their way to shop, seek out a new lunch spot or maybe just out for a spin, taking in the beautiful sunlight and cool breeze.

On the plaza in front of New Iberia’s City Hall, though, there was a gathering of people with a purpose. More than three dozen people, many carrying posters or wearing t-shirts with pictures of loved ones lost to violent crime, came together to share their stories, support each other and signal to law enforcement that they wanted answers in their family members’ deaths.

“I did not get any help from the police,” said Rosalind Bobb, talking about her fight to have justice served in the 2006 death of her 18-year-old son, Jamon Monty Rogers. “I had to do the investigation. I had to find the man. He was on the street in New Orleans.”

Bobb finally saw justice done. Ricardo Irvin Sr. is currently serving two life sentences in prison, one for the murder of Bobb’s son and one for another killing, in Houston.

Other members of the group have not found that resolution yet. The mother and sister of Davon Thompson, who was killed at the age of 37 in a gang-related shooting on Mississippi Street in 2017, said they still have not seen any justice dispensed in his death.

“They had the grand jury hand out an indictment, and they never got a warrant,” Renetta Thompson, Davon’s mother, said. “They said it fell through the cracks. I had to call and ask why they weren’t picking this guy up.”

“You stay on them, Renetta,” Bobb called from the crowd as the Thompsons spoke. “You call every day if you have to.”

Thompson did say a warrant has been issued in the case, but to her knowledge no arrest has been made.

Triscette Boloney said she was seeking justice for her mother, Faye Boloney. According to Triscette, her mother died in September under what she claimed were suspicious circumstances. For starters, she said that an acquaintance had been driving her mother’s car around town with her mother’s body in it for hours before police questioned him.

“Why was he driving her car?” she asked the crowd. “She would never let someone drive her car like that.”

Boloney said she did not get any help when she asked police to investigate why her mother died because, she claimed, her mother had a previous history with narcotics. Instead, Triscette Boloney said she had blood samples sent to a lab herself to have toxicology performed.

“Just because she had a history doesn’t mean she can’t have justice,” a woman in the crowd yelled out. “Just because you have a history doesn’t mean the investigation is over. You still have rights.”

So far, she said she still has not had any response from law enforcement.

Bobb is planning another event to focus on unsolved deaths and the sense of loss families experience as they seek justice. Her non-profit, Life Grief Support Ministries, is sponsoring a memorial service for mothers and families of murdered children on Feb. 15 at House of Prayer, 1303 W. St. Peter St. with Rev. Phillip Hill. Bobb started her group to help others as a result of her search for justice after her son’s death.