The Investigation Begins
We were stunned to hear that FDLE was going after whoever was responsible and we were soon to discover just how serious they are about it.
Our family was introduced, first by phone and later in person, to Special Agent Mike Kennedy from FDLE and Major Scott Harden from the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office. Agent Kennedy is heading up the investigation from Tallahassee with a dream-team of professionals behind him, reexamining and employing state of the art techniques to mine clues from old evidence collected from the crime scene in 1976, and following up on new and emerging leads.
It sounds to me like the investigation is focusing on certain individuals who were involved in a drug ring that operated out of Citrus County, Florida at the time of my brother’s murder. This area was a smuggler’s paradise back then: the Levy, Dixie and Taylor County coastline was largely unpoliced, partly due to the remoteness of the location but also because the pervasiveness of corruption in local government and law enforcement facilitated the operations of an enormously lucrative criminal industry. In short, it was the Wild, Wild West of the Eastern US. In 1973 the biggest marijuana bust in US history at the time - 9 tons - went down just miles from where Jimmy was murdered. People still talk about it today.
In April of 2011 my sister Kathie Norris and I flew to Florida to claim our brother’s remains and finally bring him home. We had the opportunity to tell our story to the media and ask for help from the public. We were also able to see first hand several of the areas that figure into the case. The best part of the trip was having the opportunity to meet the individuals who are working hard to solve Jimmy’s case and to bring those responsible to justice. It was an amazing experience and my sister and I flew back home feeling confident that the case is in the best of hands.
I look forward to the day when I can look the person who took my brother’s life in the eyes in a court of law; without a doubt, I’ll be there for that. When the gavel falls and someone is led away in handcuffs I will finally be able to say “It’s over,” and know that Jimmy is truly at peace.
The Chapter We Never Saw Coming
