More than four years after her daughter was found slain, Faye Reeves got five minutes with Georgia's governor Saturday.
"I think he really listened," Mrs. Reeves said shortly after their meeting. "I think he was interested in what we had to say."
Family and friends of Ms. Reeves have been working for several months to spur state officials to boost the reward in the murder case. The state's portion of the current $15,000 reward is only $2,500.
On Saturday, Mrs. Reeves, Mike Love, Jimmy Plunkett, and Robin Reeves' children - Hannah Neville and Joseph Standridge - sat in the conference room at the Thomson-McDuffie County Regional Airport and asked Gov. Sonny Perdue to increase the reward in the case.
"It was great to have this opportunity to speak to him and air our concerns," Mrs. Reeves said.
She said they also talked about increasing the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's budget, the possibility of creating a cold case division of the GBI and instituting stiffer penalties for domestic violence.
"People need to know they just can't torment others and ruin their lives," Mrs. Reeves said, a black ribbon pinned to her lapel.
Mr. Love said he hopes the meeting with the governor helps "rattle some cages."
"It gets more and more frustrating every day," he said. "Four-and-a-half years later, 22,000 people in this county. It's hard for me to understand why we don't have an answer."
The family also took the opportunity to meet with some of the other leaders gathered for Gov. Perdue's visit, including State Reps. Ben Harbin and Barry Fleming and State Sen. Jim Whitehead.
"If I can do anything, you just give me a call," Sen. Whitehead said. "I know you need some closure in your lives."
