PHOENIX — It’s been a year and a half with no answers for one south Phoenix family since someone drove by their home, shooting and killing a woman as she sat on her front porch.
Police said officers found 72-year-old Joanne Smith shot in the area of 24th Street and Roeser Road around 5:30 p.m. on February 2, 2025.
Her son, Thomas Smith, heard the gunshots and ran outside.
“She collapsed in our arms and tried to get her to the hospital,” Smith said. “Hard memories.”
Police said the case remains active and that investigators welcome any tips the community could bring forward.
"Sometimes you know we feel it and want answers, and we just keep praying,” Smith said.
People can reach out to Silent Witness, an independent non-profit dedicated to helping cases like this get solved.
"People are scared to talk,” Executive Director Johnny Martinez said. “It’s not only the mistrust of how am I going to be looked at, but is my information going to be taken? Are they going to see me as credible?”
Martinez said his organization takes every measure to protect anonymity on every call, online or mobile tip.
“Being somebody who has lived through those experiences, this work is close to home,” Martinez said.
You can reach Silent Witness for this case or others at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377) and 480-TESTIGO (480-837-8446) in Spanish.
