Son's Death
Inspires
Mother's Quest
(Article appeared in the Battle Creek Enquirer in March 2003)
Written By Trace Christenson
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Bonnie Nunnally never wanted to organize F.A.M.E. The 55-year-old Battle Creek woman was content in her job at the Kellogg Company and as a wife, mother and grandmother. That was before July 15, 1996, when her youngest son, Jermel Smith, 21, was shot and killed outside his girlfriend's Battle Creek home
Since then Nunnally has been the driving force in the organization called Families Against Murder / For Equal Justice, which has been an advocate for better communications with law enforcement, and pushed for creation of a Cold Case Homicide Team to investigate unsolved murders. F.A.M.E. also has created a scholarship for the children of murder victims.
It started late that summer night nearly seven years ago. "It was a Monday night about 11:50 pm," she said. "We went over to where he was at, but I didn't get out of the car. I knew it was pretty bad."
Her husband, Mike, identified the body. Bonnie Nunnally's life was forever changed. "I still can't get over how he was gunned down. There is an emptiness that will never be replaced. I feel such a terrible loss, and I will always remember that night." Nunnally remembers little of her son's funeral and spent six months grieving, taking medication and seeing a therapist.
Battle Creek police arrested one man in the case but murder charges were later dropped because of lack of evidence. "I realized that something was wrong in the way Jermel's case was being handled," she said. "And there had been other killings, and I was able to relate to that. I had a vision I could do something positive."
A year after his death, Jermel Smith was remembered with a candlelight vigil. Shortly after that, Bonnie and Mike Nunnally announced the formation of F.A.M.E. She said then F.A.M.E. would "bridge the gap between survivors of violent crimes, the community and judicial system and provide support for the individuals." The Nunnally's, along with Al Williams, City Commissioner Tony Walker and Marvin Austin, now Chairman of the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners, organized the group.
Nunnally says now she just couldn't do as some suggested and move on after the death of her youngest son. "Some choose to put it behind them, but I knew that I couldn't do that. When there was no arrest, I was grieving but there was a lot of anger. I was upset, angry, frustrated and grieving at the same time. It was like a nightmare. Everyone else moves on, but you are left there."
Nunnally said she knew little about the criminal justice system before her son's death and was frustrated because she received little information about the investigation. Police said at the time they wouldn't discuss much about the case because it might compromise their chance at a conviction. Nunnally said that she realizes detectives must protect some information and have other cases to work. "They are busy, but we feel we should be kept in the loop of things. And we realize that in the criminal justice system the focus is on the defendant, but we feel are loved ones are forgotten. The victim is forgotten."
Nunnally has tried to improve communications between the system and the families of homicide victims. "Communications is the biggest complaint," she said. "They don't keep us in the loop. And when families do get through, they don't listen to them." She said detectives "act like they don't make mistakes and we feel like they just don't care. We feel if there were better communications, then you could regain trust in the system."
Austin and Nunnally has forced the criminal justice system to listen to families. "She took this personal tragedy and the persistence of saying 'I want my son's killers brought to justice' and now understands the police and prosecutor's end of it. "She won't take a non-response or a 'no' for an answer," Austin said. "And she is able to convey the pain of the families. She has given a voice and advocacy to the victims' families.
"There is still frustration on both sides about the lack of the ability to solve these homicides as they happen," Austin said. "The community is frustrated by that and so is law enforcement. She deserves a lot of credit for the work that she has done and how she has expanded the group to be an advocate for the family and also focus on the children of the victims and provide resources for their education."
F.A.M.E. has begun a scholarship program for the children of victims up to age 18, helping them with things like glasses, coats and shoes with the hope of enabling them to be better students. "We want to show them they have not been forgotten and help them achieve their education." she said.
The biggest achievement may have been pushing for a Cold Case Homicide Team. F.A.M.E. decided by 1997 that the group would advocate for a team, designed to re-open unsolved homicides, usually 10 years or more after the killing. "It was not just about Jermel," she said. "We felt it was needed."
She found a supporter in Calhoun County Prosecutor John Hallacy, who took the Cold Case Team as a plank in his campaign for the office two years ago. "I think they were really one of the first to bring it to people's attention," Hallacy said. "They said it's not just law enforcement, but as a community we need to address this. They made it a goal to start a Cold Case Team.
"It was a new trend in law enforcement and what the Nunnally's did is say ' Why can't we do it here, that it is a good thing to bring forward." The team was formed in April and has made arrest in two murders from the 1980's. Hallacy said he believes F.A.M.E. and the formation of the Cold Case Team has helped improve communications and provide a level of trust between the criminal justice system and the public. "The next step is to get the community to react because these cases are solved by people coming forward and telling the truth," Hallacy hopes sometime the Cold Case Team can tell the Nunnally's the time is right to reopen her son's investigation. "I hope that we can tell Bonnie that the dynamics are working in your case, because these are good people doing good things." Nunnally wants her son's killers brought to trial. "The people who took his life should be held accountable," she said.
In the meantime, Nunnally now reads the newspaper and watches television accounts about murders, something she didn't do before her son's murder. She has become a student of the criminal justice system. "I had no knowledge. I didn't even know what the different areas of the system were until I started working with them. But I have learned about the police department and about the purpose of the investigations and have a lot of insight."
Nunnally said she believes F.A.M.E. always will be needed but admits she would not have become involved if not for that summer night in 1996. "Until it hits home, you never think about it. If it hadn't happened, my life would be completely different. "It would be different and it would be wonderful."