Tammy Love is on a mission to find her daughter's killer, nine years later.
Ashleigh Love, 19, was shot and killed while she was sleeping around 2 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2009.
The crime happened at the family's home on 64th Street between Hampton and Villard.
"Something startled me out of sleep," Tammy said. "I heard footsteps in the hallway outside my door, as if someone was running down the stairs. I got up and opened the door and there's a man in front of me, with a bandana covering his face, holding a shotgun. I thought we were getting robbed. I remember saying take whatever you want and screaming."
The intruder ran out of the home. That's when Tammy went upstairs to Ashleigh's bedroom.
"What they did to her, it's taken me every day to try and get that image out of my head," Tammy said. "What I saw when I went up those steps was horrific."
Ashleigh, a recent graduate of Pius High School, had been shot in the head while lying in bed.
"I lost part of myself in that moment," Tammy said. "It doesn't make sense. It still hurts every day. I'll never get her back. She got robbed of life."
The intruder did not take anything from the home, that's why investigators didn't believe it was a random crime. But nine years later, they still don't know who did it.
"I believe there has to be someone out there who knows something," Tammy said. "It's not about closure. Nothing will bring her back. It's about finding who did this and holding them responsible for taking a life."
Tammy has shared the details of Ashleigh's murder with Project Cold Case, The Grief Diaries and Crime Watch Daily. She's reached out to private investigators and any online resource that can potentially help. Her mission is to solve her daughter's murder.
Ashleigh worked in the food court at Mayfair Mall. Her coworkers and friends were interviewed by detectives.
Initially, Milwaukee Police were looking for someone Ashleigh may have met online. Tammy says a neighbor reported seeing a pick-up truck and two men outside her home. But there have been no new leads.
"I have hope that one day we will find out who did this," Tammy said. "My daughter may not be here physically, but I know she's with me every step of the way."
