CLEVELAND — A Mentor woman is feeling a mix of grief and hope Wednesday. On the one hand, it's the 48th anniversary of her mother's murder, which is still unsolved.
On the other hand, her brother's unsolved murder recently had a breakthrough.
"My dad was sitting at a chair by the dining room table and I remember walking up to him and asking him, ‘Why is everybody here? Why is everybody crying? Where's mommy?’ And that's when he said, 'she's dead,’” shared an emotional Christine Mahoney.
At only 6 years old, her world shattered.
It was 48 years ago, on this very day of June 21, that Christine's mother, Carla Szakacs, was murdered in Cleveland's Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood. She was getting out of her car on East 119th St. and Buckeye Rd. when she was shot and killed.
It’s not known who she was there to see that night after work, or who attacked her, but no one has ever been arrested for her murder.
"It's been really difficult,” Mahoney told 3News, explaining that the pain never gets better. “It doesn't matter how much time passes. When you have an unsolved murder in your family, you want to find out who did it because you want them to pay for what they did."
Tragically, 37 years later -- there was another devastating blow to her and her family.
"All I heard was gurgling sounds and I instantly panicked, and I'm like, ‘oh my gosh what's wrong?’" she said, continuing the heartbreaking tale.
In May 2012, her brother, John Szakacs, called her brutally beaten. He was suffering 12 broken ribs and a ruptured spleen.
He was transported from his Cleveland home near West 47th St. and Clark Ave. to a hospital, where he’d die about six weeks later on June 27, 2012.
John's murder case also went cold, but two weeks ago, the Cleveland Division of Police arrested Michelle Mallet, John's live-in girlfriend at the time of his death.
Sgt. Aaron Reese said a recent string of interviews in the past few weeks helped them conclude that Mallet was a suspect in the murder. An arrest warrant was put out for her on June 8 and she was put behind bars that night.
It’s a day both detectives and Mahoney have been dearly waiting for.
"It’s nice knowing that she's not free and she's going to pay for what she did,” Mahoney said. “It will never be enough, but at least she's not able to do whatever she wants anymore. It's a little bit of justice, and I know it would make my mom happy to know that my brother's killer was finally caught."
Reese also shared his elation with 3News.
"It feels great,” he said. “It's the reason why we do our jobs, to be able to help families get closure when people are arrested and held accountable for killing their loved ones. It's a great feeling. It makes all the hard work we do, day in and day out, makes it worth it."
Mallet’s first day in court was Wednesday. She’s facing charges for murder and felonious assault.
As for the 48-year-old cold case of Mahoney's mother, Sergeant Aaron Reese said the key suspects have died, and he's unsure if it will ever be solved.
Mahoney tells us her hope won't fade though, saying she still believes there's someone out there alive who knows something and can at least provide some answers.
