Losing her son was hard enough. Knowing his killer is still on the street is almost too much for Mathew Straub's mother.
Monday friends and family will be gathering to remember him on this third year anniversary. Loved ones are still praying for justice.
"He was an awesome father, he was very attentive, very loving, fun, he was a good guy, just an all-around good guy," said Barbara Holliman, mother of Mathew Straub
Mathew is a father to five sons and a loving husband, brother, and son.
Mat was just 39 years old when he was found dead in his 616 Fenton St. home. It was April 23rd, 2015 a day his family will never forget.
On the phone, Mat told his mom, Barbara Holliman, and wife Sharika he saw two men outside his window. His mother said he thought it was people who lived up the street that were just messing around. Until he saw them on his surveillance cameras from his tablet. The faces he saw he didn't recognize, according to Holliman. His wife asked if she should come home and he told her no, according to his mother.
His mother said shortly after she received a call from one of Mat's friends saying he felt something was wrong with Mat.
"I hung up from Mat at 9:38 am, and by 10 am I was at his house. I went to the side door and it was kicked in, there were no alarms going off, I started screaming for Mat and he didn't answer," said Holliman.
When he didn't answer she said she knew something bad had happened, but she said she didn't expect that she'd never see him again.
"I wouldn't believe it was him until I went to the funeral home, would not accept it that my son was gone, he was my baby he was my joy. You're not supposed to bury your children, he meant the world to me," said Holliman.
His last words to her on the phone were "I love you, mommy," still ring in her ear.
"They are everything to me it's what I hold on to. and I miss him every day. There is not a day that goes by that some little thing doesn't remind me of him," Mathew's mother said.
The case is now three years old on April 23, 2018, and Barbara said she still can't rest any easier without a killer behind bars.
"Scares me that there is a murderer out here in Lansing, living his life and my son isn't. Am I looking into the face of the person that murdered my son?" Holliman questioned as she wonders where the suspects are.
"Mathew deserves justice, and I pray I get that for him before I go," she said.
As the year's pass, the memory of Mathew is still strong.
"We all miss him so much, there's this big void, this big empty spot that can't be filled. And not knowing who did this, is terrible, he eats at you it eats at your heart and your mind."
According to Lansing Police, this is still an open investigation, and as of Monday there is nothing new in the case."
