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The murder of a sailor in Myrtle Grove 15 years ago remains unsolved.

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You could hear the pain, feel the loss in Dachel St. Mary's voice as she spoke about her daughter.

On November 12, 2009, Tyler Jefferson, a new sailor in training at Corry Station, was murdered while jogging outside the base in Myrtle Grove. She was just 18 years old and had recently traded in her graduation cap and gown for a chic navy outfit. She studied information technology at Corry Station. She hoped to be sent to Japan. Maybe the Navy would be a full-fledged career, St. Mary said.

Or maybe there would be something else. After all, she was still a teenager. The future was wide open.

“She was thinking about the Secret Service or something,” her mother said. “She would have been something different.”

This time of year is tough for St. Mary. She thinks about her daughter often, but at the end of October and beginning of November she feels the fear coming over her. She feels it in her bones.

“It brings a lot of emotions and I try to contain them,” she said. “But when November comes around, it's like my body knows. I can feel the loss in my spirit.”

It's been 15 years since her daughter was killed. St. Mary lives in Heartland, Texas, outside of Dallas, and Tyler's other relatives also live out of state. But St. Mary and others have traveled to Pensacola a few times since Tyler's death to seek answers, ask questions and perhaps find out why the teenager died and who was responsible.

Those answers never came, although Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigators communicated frequently with St. Mary about the unsolved case.

“I get a text or a call every week,” St. Mary said. “I want to believe they are doing everything they can. I try to be careful and not think that they’re not doing everything they can.”

Tyler Jefferson: Will Pensacola ever bring justice to slain sailor Tyler Jefferson and his family for his 2009 murder?

St. Mary supported her daughter's decision to join the military.

“I was afraid she would join the Marines,” she said. Nothing against the US Marine Corps, it's just a level that could worry any parent. “I was afraid that she would want to be at the front. But I supported her. I definitely missed her but walked with her every step I could. I even went to Louisiana with her when she got taken away.”

She was sent to Naval Training Camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, and then to Corry Station in Warrington to train as a computer technician. Less than two weeks after her murder, she was scheduled to graduate from Information Systems Technician A School in Corry Station. It only took a few days until she found out her first duty station. She hoped for Japan.

Tyler had only been in Pensacola four months when she was murdered, dying from multiple gunshots. Her body was found in the 500 block of North 49th Street in Myrtle Grove.

A billboard featuring a smiling Tyler in her Marine uniform hung for years on Lillian Highway near where her body was found. It included a reward offer and law enforcement phone numbers to call if anyone had information.

Still nothing.

The billboard is now gone. But a mother's pain endures.

“She was pretty impressive and really smart,” St. Mary said. “She was very motivated, always very motivated. I remember when she was probably 10 or 11 and she set her alarm for 5 a.m. so she could get up and do whatever she thought she needed to do. I went in and But she just loved school.

During boot camp, Tyler spoke to her mother and told her that being around so many other women was a little difficult – she just wasn't used to that dynamic. She asked her mother to send her some Bible verses to help her with basic training.

St. Mary sent her a cover Bible she had found and highlighted some verses for her to focus on.

“She was so grateful,” she said. “We had a close relationship. I would tell her I love her every day.”

If you have any information about the death of Tyler Jefferson or any other unsolved crime, please contact Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at 850-433-STOP or call toll-free 877-433-TIPS. Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers works with local law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes. All calls and tips are anonymous.

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