Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It has been nearly five months since the murder of 19-year-old Tyler Lewis while he was at the University at Buffalo's North Campus in Amherst.
It was on Oct. 14, 2022 when Lewis was stabbed in the chest sometime around 7:30 p.m. EST at Moody Terrace Roadway near the Richmond Quad in the Ellicott Complex on the campus. Lewis was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
At the time of his death, Lewis was a sophomore at Buffalo State College, a sister SUNY institution of the University at Buffalo.
As of Monday, there has been little answers given to the family, with regards to details about the person who killed Lewis that Friday night in October. While it is believed the University at Buffalo Police have identified a person of interest in the case, no arrests have been made in the fatal stabbing, and no charges have been pressed against any individual by the Erie County District Attorney's Office.
With time continuing to tick away and no further information coming to the family into the investigation of Lewis' death, it has led family members, attorneys and other advocates to call for clarity and hasty actions made to bring justice to the Lewis family.
"I came here today to beg you to please, it's been almost five months, nearly five months, and we still don't have any answers," said an emotional Roquishia Lewis, Tyler's mother.
"My nephew was a good person. He had a lot of ambition, he had a lot of dreams. On Oct. 14, he died, and he will not die in vain. We will come back, we will be here. We are united, we will win, we will prevail," said Ryan Trollinger, Ryan Lewis' uncle. "Tyler was misled by a group of friends, but now it's time. We need the [DA's Office] to do their job, need to do their job diligently, and we need them to do it now. We understand that there are some circumstances around Tyler's case that are proceeding now, but it's not fast enough. ... In other cases, it's been solved quicker. We need justice for Tyler now."
Attorney James Williamson is one of the attorneys representing the Lewis family as this case continues. He wants to see to it that no parent ever has to worry about their child being killed in a place like a college campus, where every parent should be ensured of their child's safety. That, unfortunately, did not happen for Lewis back on Oct. 14 at UB's North Campus.
"Mr. Lewis was a bright, young shining star, whose family focused on education, gone way too soon. You can see how emotional the family is over it right now," said Williamson during a press conference. "What we want to do is issue one last appeal. This is a major college campus with a lot of witnesses. We know that there's a Grand Jury going on right now, so we want to put out an appeal for anybody that knows anything about this crime. To come forward, let your story be told to the DA's [Office], to the police officers, call the tip line. We want to make sure that whoever is responsible for this heinous crime is brought to justice so that this family can finally get the closure that they deserve."
Williamson also issued another appeal to the Erie County DA's Office, wishing for full transparency with the investigation into Lewis' death.
"We know there's a Grand Jury [investigation] going on right now, but we want to make sure that whenever the time is right - whether that'd be now, whether it'd be when the Grand Jury is over - we have full transparency as far as what took place on that night, what the investigation was, so that this family can have the closure that they've been deserving for the past 143 days."
The group that held Monday's press conference in front of the Erie County Legislature building in Downtown Buffalo believes the DA's Office has no intention in indict the assailant, who has been described as a white male. They also say not only was the assistance of Attorney Williamson needed for this case, but they also called in their own private investigator and created their own tip line to move the case forward.
If anyone has any further information into the investigation, the Lewis family and others in attendance are asking for people to call the anonymous tip line established at (716)-226-6336.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn released a statement on Monday regarding the latest in terms of their investigation into Lewis' death:
"While our office cannot comment as the case remains under investigation, we have met with the family of Tyler Lewis on numerous occasions. We have also spoken with the family regularly to provide updates on this ongoing investigation. Any claim that our office has not been transparent with the Lewis family is completely false."
More from Monday's press conference with the Lewis family, their attorneys and other advocates is available in the player below:
