KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Heather Sanders got the last call any mother wants to get two weeks ago.
Her son, Charles Sanders, was shot and killed a few miles from their home in the Northland.
"Whenever I did get that phone call, you think he's just gonna come back through that door. He never will," his mother said.
This weekend, the family will say their last goodbyes at his funeral service.
His mother, Heather, remembers a police officer coming to their door that day about her daughter's vehicle being abandoned.
She said they went to retrieve it and saw the crime scene, but did not know what happened until much later.
In the days that went by, she had a gut feeling it was her son.
"It took 48 hours for them to confirm it," Sanders said. "That was the longest 48 hours."
Sanders said her son was turning his life around. He recently went back and got a high school diploma through an alternative school under the Missouri Division of Youth Services.
"Charles lost his father almost three years ago, and it was pretty rough for him. He did make some bad choices, but just wanted to help kids in his shoes try to do better," His mother said.
His sister, Alyssa, also saw that in him.
They had a close brother-sister relationship and were only a year and a week apart.
"We played video games together, sports games, trash-talking each other," she said.
Alyssa remembers how they wanted their own birthday celebrations as they got older.
However, she's grateful that this year they decided to have a party together.
Alyssa shared that her school has been a strong support system and brought her family food the day after her brother was killed.
"You see it on the news and don't think it's gonna happen to you," Alyssa said. "It's unnecessary, there are so many other ways."
The wait for justice is difficult for the family, but they don't want to be the reason why another family gets the same call.
"We want the person who did it to get found, go to jail for the rest of their life, then suffer because we have to suffer, but I don't wish death because no one should have to die until it's their time," Charles' sister said.
KCPD said the latest updates on the case have already been released.
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