‘I don’t hate you, I pray for you’: Mother, police want to solve Fort Myers cold case

Fort Myers police detectives are close to solving a 2008 homicide that killed Torry Chrisp but are asking for the public’s help.

Chrisp, 22, was inside his Brookside Village apartment with friends when two masked men entered and began shooting, according to Fort Myers police.

Chrisp fled outside and was chased by a vehicle and shot dead. It happened on

Shirley Lias, Chrisp’s mother, has never spoken to a media about her son’s death, but now, she wants the cycle of violence to stop to keep other parents from feeling her same pain.

“If I could say anything to encourage the violence to stop in Dunbar, that’s why I took this interview with you, so I can speak to somebody else’s child. My baby’s gone we can’t bring TC back,” Lias said.

Lias adored her son. He was the youngest of eight children.

“Torry was just a sweetheart and I’ll miss him until the day I die,” Lias said. “If you ask around the community people would say Torry was some of the most respectful men. Some of the mothers say hey when the kids say bad words Torry would say, hey man don’t you see your mom.”

But she also knows she didn’t know all of him.

“There had to be another part that I don’t understand why Torry is here,” Lias said.

Lias doesn’t want revenge and she doesn’t hold on to anger. In fact, she forgives.

“In my heart, I forgive anybody that I hear was part. I would not let anger or hate take me down,” Lias said. “The night that my son was killed I started praying then and that was 14 years ago I prayed that night for whoever did this. I prayed for their mom.”

Fort Myers police cold case Det. Richard Harasym wants to know who those people are.

“We have developed more evidence since the original case was put to the side so to speak,” Harasym said. “I believe that the case is good and you know we may need an additional one or two more pieces of evidence to push it over the top.”

They are looking a hard look at the evidence, the people and the circumstances.

“We look at those interviews and we see their reactions. Are they being truthful or are they not being truthful? Did they slip up when they gave the detective back then an answer,” Harasym said.