The parents of aUniversity of California, Santa Barbara(UCSB) student who was allegedlyraped and strangled near campusare making a desperate public plea for authorities to bring in outside help as the suspect remains at large days after the horrifying attack.
The family, through their attorney, is urging school officials to ask the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to assist in the investigation into the alleged assault, which has shaken the campus community at UCSB.
“We are pleading with the chancellor please request the Santa Barbara Sheriffs Department to help with this investigation to apprehend this person,” family attorney Tyrone Maho said in a statement provided on behalf of the victim’s parents to a local TV outletKEYT.
Maho said the family believes university police are taking the case seriously, but argued that a larger agency with more resources should now be involved.
“I do believe they truely want want to find this person we’re just asking that they get assistance,” he said. “That is a department that is bigger and more capable and has the experience to do so.”
The renewed calls for action come after students at UCSB were alerted May 10 about a reported “rape and strangulation” that allegedly occurred on campus property around 10 p.m.
According to previous reporting, the victim and suspect met earlier that evening at a party in Isla Vista, thecollege town adjacent to the university, and did not know each other before the incident.
The family’s private investigator, Michael Claytor, is also encouraging anyone who may have seen suspicious activity that night to come forward, even if they believe the information is minor.
“Remember it might be enough to say I saw this and they can then put the pieces together themselves they are not going to need to use you to testify,” Claytor said. “Give them what is important and let them do the rest.”
In a statement, the UC Police Department defended its handling of the investigation while citing privacy restrictions that prevent officials from discussing specific details publicly.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
