YSPILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — The list of grieving families looking for answers is growing in Ypsilanti. Alongside the loved ones of slain Eastern Michigan University student Julia Niswender, who was raped and murdered inside her off-campus apartment, there is the family of Jason Mayleben.
Mayleben was shot and killed in the passenger seat of a car parked outside of a local store in Ypsilanti. His murder has been unsolved for almost three years.
Related video: Family of Julia Niswender says nobody is investigating the Eastern Michigan University student's murder
His mother, Kate Gregory, told me she was under the impression that her son’s murder was being investigated by the Ypsilanti Police Department. But after an entire year of radio silence, she grew concerned.
She told me she was unable to get a call back from anyone at the department regarding her son’s murder, so she went to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office to try and get some answers.
After listening to her concerns, a member of the sheriff’s office called over to the Ypsilanti police, who suggested she come down to the department. So, she complied.
When Gregory arrived, she was greeted by a lieutenant who told her plainly that nobody was investigating her son’s murder.
“He told us that nobody was working Jason’s case. I feel Jason has been forgotten,” she said.
Gregory, just like so many other grieving families, felt abandoned by the only people who can get justice for her son.
Thinking about the timeline, it begged the question: what happened to the department?
I reached out to the union representative for the Ypsilanti Police Department, Eric Ronewicz. He explained to me that three years ago, the department had enough personnel to fully function.
But there was a mass exodus from the department when former Chief Kirk Moore brought a lieutenant back to the department who was previously on paid administrative leave for three years.
“They informed the chief that if they brought him back that the morale would be done in the department and that would be something that they figure is untrustworthy, and told him if he came back that they would leave," Ronewicz said. "By the end, I think there might have been seven officers total that were still left in the department that were just handling road patrol duties. Sometimes, they didn't have enough people to do that either.”
Watch our August 2023 story about Ypsilanti police calling on the Washtenaw County sheriff for help with low staffing
The departures left the remaining officers feeling burnt out and overwhelmed with the weight of the work from various units inside the department on their shoulders.
After hearing all of this, I reached out to City Manager Andrew Hellenga to ask him what’s been going on with the department.
While he would not comment on the mass exodus of the department, Hellenga told me that for now, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office is handling Ypsilanti’s day-to-day felony cases as they rebuild.
“The interim chief has placed two officers in training for the role of detectives, so they'll kind of be a dual role as both road patrol as well as detective until we solidify our ranks a little bit more,” Hellenga said.
Now, the grieving families of these murder victims told me they are hoping to see justice for their loved ones but are losing faith that will happen with the Ypsilanti Police Department.
