Nov 19, 2006 10:17 pm US/Central
Case Of Father Killed Outside Home Goes Unsolved
Mother Turns Tragedy Into A Way Of Helping Children
by Jim Williams
AURORA (CBS) ―
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Lou Sacckette shot to death while helping a friend do some home repairs in Aurora.
CBS
A young father is shot to death while helping a friend do some home repairs in Aurora.
No one has ever been charged, but his family is determined to make something good come out of this senseless crime.
This is the story of Lou Sacckette.
"Lou was a very good father," said his mother, Cheryl Marrafio. "His family was very important to him… We love him and miss him dearly. If we could turn back the clock, we would."
It was 10 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2000, and in that moment Marrafio's life changed forever.
"This terror came over me, I never felt before. I don't want to feel again. I thought someone was in the house," she said.
No one was in the house. That horrifying chill came from something far worse. Just a few miles away, her 30-year-old son had stepped out on the porch for a cigarette break after helping a friend install a water heater. That's when a van approached.
"As they stopped, the shooter from the outside rear sliding window of the van shot five times into the house," said Det. Mike Nilles with the Aurora Police Department.
Sacckette was dead after being struck in the cheek by a bullet. Another victim, who was shot in the torso, survived.
Police believe gang members are responsible, although Sacckette was not in a gang.
"It definitely could have been some gang initiation," Nilles said.
Six years later, there have been no arrests. Police believe someone may be able to help and not even realize it.
"Prior to the murder, East Aurora High School had a bonfire. We believe that suspects' vehicle was at that bonfire, and we believe there's people that were at that bonfire who saw the suspects," Nilles said. "We need those people to come forward and tell us who was inside that van."
The van is described as a dark colored, early 90's, Ford Aerostar.
Detective Nilles would especially like to close this case for Sacckette's mom.
"I think she took this tragedy and instead of letting it ruin her life, she's trying to help others," he said.
Today Cheryl Marrafio is teaching kindergartners about bullying. Other days she talks to older kids about the dangers of gangs and guns.
It became this mother's new mission when she found herself unprepared to deal with the senseless and violent death of her son.
"Through my own experience, it was very clear that we needed some type of victim's services at the scene, crisis trauma counseling and advocacy for the families and victims," Marrafio said.
She refuses to let her son's murder stop her from loving and helping others, and says it is what Lou would have wanted.
"I promised him at the hospital when I had to say my goodbye that something good would come from it," Marrafio said. "That's what my mission would be."
Marrafio has helped start several support groups, as well as a victim's services unit with the Aurora Police Department. She often goes to court with victim's families or simply sits and talks and shares fond memories.
If you have any information about the murder of her son, please call the Aurora Police Department at 630-801-6742.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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