Family closer to justice in 'cold case' killing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- After more than three years, a mother is one step closer to justice for her son.
Ronnette Hariston has been fighting for answers and this week, a man was charged with murder in her son’s death.
Hairston said her son was the life of the party; now, Giant’e Adaway is her “forever 22.”
In October 2020, he was shot and killed, at 22 years old. Since then, Hairston and her family have been fighting for charges.
"My daughter didn't sleep, didn't eat, and stayed up all night getting all the information," Hairston said.
Hairston shared frustration; she said she thought there was clear evidence, but the investigation dragged on and even fell into the cold case files, but a few weeks ago, that changed.
"This last lady that we got third, they say third is a charm and she was a charm to our family," she said.
On Monday, Ronald Vaughn was charged with murder and felonious assault in connection with the shooting of Adaway.
"I was very numb because, you know, you waited on this time, and then when it finally… it's like, 'Wow, it's finally here,'" Hairston said.
Vaughn was arraigned Wednesday and Hairston saw his face for the first time.
"I wanted to let him see that my son meant the world, he has a family and his life did matter," Hairston said.
She said the fight doesn’t end here. She doesn’t want any other mother to lose a child to violence, which is why she's working with Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children (MOMCC).
"I'm going to continue to fight because I don't want not another mother to wear this orange and my son, he would agree with me because that's the kind of child he was," Hairston said.
MOMCC is working on Operation Under Triple Digits, trying to keep the homicide number under 100.
Preliminary FBI data shows that across the United States, violent crime was down in the last quarter of 2023 compared with the same time in 2022. For cities the size of Columbus -- 500,000-999,999 residents -- violent crime was down five percent.
"You ask any family that's lost a loved one due to homicide, and, you know, it's devastating, and so, one is too many, but I think we're hopefully headed in the right direction," retired FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas said.
The data requires local law enforcement to report their numbers and experts said this may not reflect the exact numbers Columbus police have.
"As of now I think a little over 15,000 of the 18 almost 19,000 agencies have submitted crime report information, so it's not complete," Trombitas said.
Earlier this year Columbus police said homicides in the city went up in 2023 compared with 2022 but was still less than in 2021.
As for Vaughn, he is being held in the Franklin County Jail on a $1 million bond.