The unsolved case of Iris Tyson
It’s always tragic hearing about someone ending up dead. But it’s even more tragic when the culprit is never found, and the family of the victim never gets the closure that they deserve. Today, we’re talking about one of those cases. Today, we’re talking about the unsolved case of Iris Tyson.
The reason why I decided to focus on Iris’ case is because of the little to no coverage that her case has gotten, and I believe that it’s only right to spread the word at least a little bit.
Iris, a 23-year-old woman, was an only child, but her family was big, her having a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was loved by everyone, and people said that she had a magnetic personality. Iris adored singing and never shied away from entertaining people with her singing.
Iris at the time of her going missing was unemployed but she always wanted to become a veterinarian. She also loved her cat, Yum-Yum, like her own daughter.
Iris was someone who preferred being at home over going outside with friends or going on trips. Iris and one of her friends were planning on going on a trip to Florida Keys, but Iris canceled the trip after she realized that she wouldn’t want to be away from home for so long.
From what I found while looking around, there is a Facebook group dedicated to her memory and some of her cousins have made tributes on YouTube of her best photos. That is enough to show that she is missed. It’s heartbreaking that her family has not found closure just yet.
The day of the accident was Mother’s Day, May 8, 2011. The location that this took place in was South Philadelphia and from reports, this happened around 1 PM.
It was Mother’s Day and Iris wanted to get her mother, Kelly, a surprise mother’s day’s gift. The gift was going to be a mother’s day’s card. Iris told her father about her plan, and he happily agreed with keeping it a secret from Kelly. Before Iris could slip away, Kelly caught her and asked where she was going. Kelly explains that she’s going to run to the grocery store and will be back “in a little bit”. That was the last thing that Kelly told her family before disappearing.
Seeing as this happened a lot of times, her family had no reason to suspect that something might happen. She usually took the Pathway on Oregon Avenue, which was only a few blocks away from where they lived. They had no reason to think that something bad would happen on that very day. Ironically so, the day was beautiful, as if trying to mask the tragedy that is going to happen not too long after.
It didn’t take long for her family to start getting worried about Iris. It was around 3 PM when this happened. Iris was a responsible person and she had made plans to be back and have dinner with her mother. By 6 PM, the family was frantic, and they filed a missing person’s report. Fearing that something horrible happened to Iris, they reported the disappearance of their daughter to Philadelphia’s police department.
Like in many cases, the police did not do much initially. As in many cases where an adult disappears, they said to the family that because the person is an adult, they could have simply left on their own or they are doing something without telling the family. That usually happens in cases like these. At times, police take weeks before taking an adult’s missing case seriously, and that minimalizes the chances of finding the person still alive or find the person at all.
After realizing that the police were not going to do anything to help the family, Iris’ family and friends got to work trying to search for the missing woman. Family and friends went around posting missing person posters, and her parents drove around the neighborhood’s streets in search of their missing daughter. Sadly, everything was in vain, as they found no trace of the poor girl.
People who knew Iris knew that she would never go missing without telling her family or friends about her whereabouts. She was a good and diligent person who was very close to her family and had no history of trying to run away from home. She was especially close with her mother, Kelly.
Iris’ parents, Joe, and Kelly did everything they could to try and spread awareness about the disappearance of their daughter. They took interviews with several reporters, but those interviews were never aired live. Joe and Kelly were very frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the police and local news media.
After a week of relentless searching for Iris, the family received a call that no family wants to get. The police reported that a body was found in an overgrown, grassy Point Breeze lot on Sunday morning. The police say that Iris died from blunt force trauma to the head, which was ruled out to be a homicide. Joe went to identify the body and confirmed that it’s Iris, based on the butterfly tattoo that the body had.
The body was found by someone who was collecting bottles near an abandoned area. When family and friends heard that, they said confidently that Iris was not the type of person that would go to places like that. She was a responsible and clever young woman and knew to avoid places like that. Her family and friends were sure that she was abducted and brought there by force.
The coroner’s office determined that Iris died from blunt force to her head. And even if when her body was found her pants were removed, there were no signs of sexual assault or a robbery. As of right now, detectives are not sure about the motive or reason behind this murder.
This case left a lot of questions in the minds of the policemen. A spokesperson of the police force said that there were many questions left unanswered. They didn’t know if the murder was committed in the overgrown lot, or if it happened somewhere else and the body was simply dropped off at the location. Police say that they believe Iris’ body was dropped off there hours after her disappearance.
To say the least, it was almost too much for the family to handle, knowing that their daughter was so close to home without them knowing that or being able to help.
Because of the Police’s lack of initial involvement and concern about Iris’ missing status, they were forced to hurry by trying to understand what happened and create a timeline. So, based on the witness report, Iris was heading towards the Oregon Plaza shopping center, but there are no reports of her ever arriving there. Last, she has been seen at the intersection of 4th and Ritner.
As protocol, the police interviewed the family to try and figure out if anyone might have a motive to kill Iris, but her family and friends were confused, and nobody came to mind. Iris was known as a very sweet person, who was generally beloved by everyone. It seemed like an impossible thought to them that anyone would want to murder Iris.
Iris also didn’t seem to know anyone in the area where she was found dead. The area was generally deserted too, as most homes were abandoned. It’s still a mystery to the detectives on why Iris was even there in the first place.
Sadly, like many other cases, Iris’ case didn’t get much publicity when it first happened. Not even when her body was found did the reporters find this case interesting enough to write anything about it. That reduced the family’s chance to get the world about the tragedy that struck them, and to maybe catch the killer.
The family was desperate for any information, and in September of that year, started to offer a 2,000$ reward to anyone who was able to provide any information about the case. But nobody came forward.
In a last-ditch effort, the family rose the reward money for any information to 3,500$ in October, but that also didn’t get any attention, and nobody sent any information.
Kelly went to the press, while addressing the murderer. She explains that they took her daughter and best friend away but that they were willing to forgive them if they came out and allowed the family to find closure. That still didn’t bear any fruits for the family and to this day, the case remains unsolved.
In 2017, reporters interview Joe, and the man says that time didn’t heal the wounds that Iris’ murder caused the whole family, and they think of her every day, hoping that one day justice will be served and that Iris’ could finally be put to rest.
If you have any information about Iris’s murder, please contact the Citizens Crime Commission of the Delaware Valley at 215–546–8477. You may remain anonymous. Do NOT prank call this number. This situation is not a joke and should be taken seriously.
My opinions about this case:
Iris was clearly a good person who didn’t deserve this. She had a loving family and a bright future before her. She was kind and generally beloved. A truly good person. It’s rare to meet people like that nowadays and it’s a tragedy that we lost her.
Her family still has an active facebook group, missing her disappearance. It’s clear that the family loved Iris and that it hurts to them that her killer couldn’t be caught. That she still hasn’t been put to rest.
I partially blame the police for their lack of involvement in the beginning. It’s sad but this is how a lot of cases of adults going missing are handled. If the police would have listened to the family originally, they might have caught the killer or at least found the body sooner.
All I can hope for is that the family finds justice soon and that Iris is finally able to know that she has been avenged and that nobody else is going to have the same fate as her.
Source Materials:
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