Jeanette Pata never knew Jasper Howard, the University of Connecticut football player who was fatally stabbed last month outside a school dance, but she felt compelled to drive from West Palm Beach to the New Birth Baptist Church in Opa Locka for his funeral a few weeks ago.

Pata wanted to be there for Howard's mother, JoAngela, because she knows exactly what the woman is going through.

``I wanted to be there to support that lady,'' Pata said. ``I know the suffering and pain she feels, and I wanted to give her a hug.''

Pata hasn't had a good night's sleep since Nov. 7, 2006, the night her youngest son, Bryan, a University of Miami football player, was murdered outside his Kendall apartment. The killer remains at large, the mystery unsolved, and his tormented mother says she cannot have closure or be at peace until her questions are answered.

For Howard's funeral, Pata made a memorial T-shirt that had Howard's photo on one side and her son's photo on the other. The mothers share the grief of losing their sons, but a suspect has been charged in Howard's death, and the Pata case is getting colder with every passing day.

Her other children and friends urge her to try to move on, to focus on other things, but she can't, especially not once the calendar flips to November.

And so, three years after the murder, she lies awake at night, tossing and turning, trying to speak to her dead son, going over and over in her head every detail she can remember from those days to see if she can come up with a clue. So far, nothing.

She makes the annual phone call to reporters, urging them to remind their readers of the anniversary, in the hopes somebody out there will come clean or report a clue to the police.

She says: ``I want everybody to know that on Nov. 7, 2006, at 7:03 p.m., Bryan was gunned down outside his apartment complex. I have no answer to who killed my son. I don't know what to do anymore. I pray to God for answers. I shed tears every day. I talk to and sing to myself, but I have no answers.

``I am here to let everybody know that if they know anything, please come forward and say something. I'm not going to give up until I find out who killed my son. Is Bryan's case too difficult to solve? It has been three years and still no answers. Why is it taking so long? My only hope is to wait patiently and trust in my God. My family and friends are still waiting for answers. Thank you for your love and support, and God Bless.''

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