Cracking the tough cases takes time and patience

PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) – Taylor Cunningham died in September.

It took nearly eight months before his autopsy came back giving investigators the evidence they needed to make an arrest.

“It’s frustrating for everybody to have to wait, but it’s important, and it’s appropriate, and it’s necessary. That’s what we do,” said District Attorney Andrew Hamlin.

District Attorney Andrew Hamlin said the case of Taylor Cunningham’s death was different than most.

It required time and waiting for autopsy results before making an arrest,

“It was different from the standpoint of it just took some time to get the forensic analysis back as well as the autopsy back from the department of forensic sciences. Those were things in an investigation like this we have to have back in order to piece together what happened,” said Hamlin.

Hamlin said while it’s important to be persistent in pursuing a case, it’s also important to not get ahead of the evidence.

Investigators also had to keep their emotions in check to get the job done right.

“You have to set those feelings aside, and you have to look at the facts and the evidence. You follow it. And I feel like with the arrest Mr. Forte is the first step in bringing him to justice. It’s an emotional case, it’s an emotional investigation just by virtue of the people involved, and the age of the child, and the injuries, and the life that child was subjected to during the final days of his life, but you have to set that aside and do your job,” said Hamlin.

Even with the arrest of Markevius Forte, Hamlin said closure may be elusive.

“I don’t necessarily believe in closure because a wound like this never heals. You’ve got a four-year-old that died, that passed away, in circumstances like this, for me and for this office bringing this person to justice is absolutely paramount. That we do that if it provides some degree of healing for this child’s love one, then I absolutely want to do that,” said Hamlin.

District Attorney Hamlin said the next step is bringing Forte to court.