Sema'j Crosby Unsolved Homicide Reaches 4-Year Anniversary

JOLIET, IL — If you visit Joliet's 113-year-old Elmhurst Cemetery along East Washington Street and drive to the very back of the grounds, you will come across the Apostles section. Hundreds of people, most of whom lived a long, productive life, are in their final resting places.

If you look closely at the ground, you will see a small wooden cross erected in the grass behind one of the headstones not far from the little road within the east-side cemetery.

A bouquet of plastic flowers is attached to the wooden cross. The bottom corner of the tombstone reads: "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep I Pray The Lord My Soul To Keep."

The words appear inside a cloud below a crescent moon. There are seven little stars carved into the tombstone. The bottom right corner has a baby rattle carved into the stone.

This is the tombstone for Sema'j Crosby.

Sema'j was born November 2, 2015. Her date of death listed on her gravestone is April 27, 2017.

Tuesday marked four long years since the little 17-month-old girl met her end in such a horrific and violent manner — more than twice as long as she was alive.

Sema'j was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m. on April 27, 2017, inside her Preston Heights residence, 309 Louis Road, in Joliet Township. The house no longer stands. It was burned to the ground as the result of an arson that also remains unsolved.

Several months later, after mounting pressure from social justice advocates, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil announced that the manner of her death was being classified as asphyxia.

"Additionally, based on the unusual circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her decomposing body under the couch in her own home, the multiple previous contacts by the (Illinois) Department of Children and Family Services, the suspicious fire at the residence and lack of cooperation from the witnesses, the manner of death of this 17-month-old Sema'j L. Crosby is currently classified as homicide," O'Neil stated in his September 2017 news release.

If you had to sum up the Sema'j Crosby homicide investigation in only one word, the best word to use would be "frustrating."

The case has certainly been frustrating for members of the Will County Sheriff's Office investigation unit. They have never made an arrest in connection with Sema'j's death.

The case is certainly frustrating for Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow and his team of prosecutors. Glasgow's unit has been unable to hold anyone accountable for Sema'j's killing.

The homicide of a little girl from Joliet has gone unpunished under Glasgow's term in elected office.

Even efforts to rally the community on behalf of Sema'j Crosby have fallen by the wayside.

LaToya Robinson started a petition on Change.org called "I would like to achieve justice for Sema'j Crosby and ensure other children will be saved."

"After 2 days of searching, Sema'j Crosby was found deceased under the couch in her deplorable home with bugs eating her beautiful face," Robinson's petition read. "This was very puzzling considering the fact that during the initial search, police lifted the couch for LaKerisha Crosby to get one of Sema'j’s shoes for the search dogs to track her scent. When the dogs were searching, they would go a few feet and come back to the house and tap on the window where the couch was located where the Crosbys and many people who squatted at the home were sitting during the search."

Sadly, the Sema'j Crosby Change.org petition has basically gone dormant. Few people have signed the petition within the past two years. The petition drive reached 510 signatures.

Back in 2017 and 2018, there were lots of peaceful rallies, demonstrations, and plenty of finger-pointing surrounding the efforts to hold someone accountable for Sema'j's death.

Those days are long gone. Friends and supporters of Sema'j are no longer holding public demonstrations on the little girl's behalf.

Community interest in Sema'j's case, unfortunately, has waned during the passing of time.

Back in May 2017, Pastor Warren Dorris told CBS Chicago's Channel 2 that Sema'j's mother, Sheri Gordon, was not doing well.

“She does not know what to expect after the service. This is now a criminal investigation officially, and she’s really worried,” Dorris told CBS Chicago about a week after Sema'j's death. “Let me tell you something. Let me make this very clear. Whatever happened to this child, whoever was responsible for this needs to be held accountable.

“You’ve got to remember, you’ve got a mother — regardless — has lost a child. Even though she may be responsible, she’s lost a child,” Dorris said.

At the time of this column's publication, The Justice for Sema'j Action Team had not posted anything on its Facebook page for Tuesday's four-year anniversary.

Last year, at the third anniversary, the coalition reminded everyone, "There is no statute of limitations for murder, Sema'j's death is an open case. If anyone knows any details, information, or anything that can help lead to the arrest and prosecution of Sema'j's murderer please call Detective R.J. Austin of the Will County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations."

His phone number is 815-727-8574.

With community interest in the Sema'j Crosby case at a low mark, it's easy to become discouraged and reach the conclusion that the little girl's killer will always go unpunished. But that doesn't have to be the case.

A great many cold cases get solved when people least expect that to happen. Maybe this will be the year that the Will County Sheriff's Office investigation will turn the corner.

"Unfortunately, there isn't anything new to report regarding the Sema'j Crosby investigation," Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy of Investigations Dan Jungles notified me on Tuesday night. "It's clear to us that the person(s) responsible for the death of Sema'j was someone that was supposed to care and love for her.

"We hope bringing this case to light again will spark interest throughout the Joliet area community. Hopefully someone can come forward and bring us actionable information or evidence so that someone is held accountable for the death of this child. The Sema'j Crosby investigation will remain an open investigation until justice is served in this case."

Sema'j's time on earth came to a brutal and violent end way too early. If she were alive today, she would be finishing kindergarten and looking forward to spending her summer eating ice cream and riding her bicycle.

The employees at Joliet's Elmhurst Cemetery have done a magnificent job of giving her a fitting and proper burial. She is buried in a beautiful part of the Joliet cemetery, and Elmhurst's maintenance crews were hard at work Tuesday afternoon making sure that the grounds looked pristine and immaculate.

It's sad to realize that a small child in Joliet lost her life in such a cruel manner. But let's hope that Sema'j Crosby does not become forgotten in the coming months and years.

If you're in the area, think about the stopping by her grave site for maybe five or ten minutes. Let her know that you're praying for her. Let her know that you're praying for the Will County Sheriffs' Office to catch her killer.