SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's been five months and Chiffon Buckner has still not received any answers on her daughter's death.
Taylor Blackwell, 19, was found dead in a WoodSpring Suites hotel room in Sacramento on February 28, 2020. Buckner said she thought she was going to receive an update about Blackwell's case when police detectives visited her home earlier this month. Instead, they asked her questions she'd already answered for a different detective shortly after her daughter died.
"I feel like they are liars and I don't trust them," Buckner said. "I feel like they never intended to make Taylor's investigation a priority and now that we're fighting back, they're trying to make it seem as if they're doing their jobs in a timely and efficient manner, but I don't believe that for one second."
Sacramento Coroner Kimberly Gin said her office usually takes four months to complete death investigations for cases like Blackwell's. She said the autopsy was done in March and the report should be coming back shortly.
"To accurately pinpoint a cause and manner [of death], more investigation is needed. This is an active investigation. I can’t talk about anything connected to the investigation until it is complete," Gin said.
A spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department said the case is still active and there is no current update, as well.
Berry Accius, a Sacramento-based activist who runs the organization She Could be my Daughter, said it doesn't make any sense for Blackwell's mother to still have no answers this long after her daughter's death.
"They haven't given the right answers nor have they supported the family and friends the way they should have," Accius said. "They dropped the ball. Their negligence shows. I'm hoping that they have some sort of explanation about how she died."
Accius has arranged demonstrations across Sacramento to bring attention to Blackwell's case and demand answers about her death. He said he wants Sacramento police and the coroner's office to care about a "Black, 19-year-old girl who had all her life to live."
"I want them to act like this is their child. I want them to forget about her zip code. I want them to not have a bias. I want them to feel like this family needs justice. I want them to make a statement that Black women will be protected here in Sacramento," Accius said.
Buckner said she's grown angry about the lack of answers from the coroner's office and the police department. She said she doesn't believe she will find out what happened to her daughter any time soon, but she's going to continue to fight for answers.
"If a fight is what I have to do to get the answers that I need for my daughter's justice, then that's what I'm going to do," Buckner said. "They're now dealing with a mother who doesn't have anything else to lose because I already lost the only thing that mattered the most to me in this world."
FOR NEWS IN YOUR COMMUNITY, DOWNLOAD OUR APP:
►Stay in the know! Sign up now for the Daily Blend Newsletter
Chiffon Buckner said she hasn't received any new information about her daughter's, Taylor Blackwell, death. She spoke with Ja'Nel Johnson to discuss what these five months have been like for her.