Sema'j Crosby Would Have Turned 2 Today

JOLIET, IL - Thursday will mark one of the biggest public events of the year for the grassroots organizations fighting to bring justice to Sema'j Crosby. She is the little girl who lived in Joliet Township and was slain at her family's rental house on Louis Road. If Sema'j was still alive, Thursday would have been her golden birthday. So, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., The Sema'j Crosby Coalition for Justice and Freedom First International are hosting a celebration of Sema'js life. The public event is at 1 Doris Avenue in Joliet.

"The Father (James Crosby) along with friends and family members of Sema'j Crosby as well as community members will be present," the notice posted on Facebook reads. "The goal of the event is to honor the life of Sema'j Crosby as well as announce the effort to build The Sema'j Crosby Coalition for Justice ... Happy Heavenly 2nd Golden Birthday Princess. We will NEVER forget! Join us to celebrate and honor Baby Sema'js 2nd birthday."

A separate event, balloon launch and candlelight vigil, is being organized by the Justice for Sema'j Action Team, a different group that has been working to bring the little girl justice. That event will take place around 6 p.m. in front of the vacant lot where Sema'j used to live. The housed burned down within days after her death.

For months, the circumstances surrounding the little baby's death remained a mystery and authorities for Will County were not even saying how the 1-year-old child died. In September, the Justice for Sema'j Team turned up public heat on the Will County Sheriff's Department and Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow, holding rallies in downtown Joliet on successive weeks. Shortly thereafter, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil declared the little girl's death a homicide and revealed that she died as a result of asphyxia.

For the most part, first-term Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley has tried to stay out of the limelight regarding the high-profile Sema'j Crosby homicide case. Instead, Kelley has opted to delegate public comments and questions about his agency's inability to solve the case to his subordinates. However, one of Kelley's key subordinates, Rick Ackerson, deputy chief of investigations, just retired.

In mid-September, Ackerson told Joliet Patch that Will County "is not going to be arresting people just to arrest people." During that interview, Ackerson reminded people that four women have clammed up, which has stifled the ongoing criminal investigation in trying to determine who killed Sema'j and who concealed her death by putting her body underneath a living room couch.

"Four people in that house know what happened in that house," Ackerson said at the time. "They've not been cooperative."

Images via Justice for Sema'j Crosby Action Team