Victim’s mother asks for help to solve 2016 killings

A mother is asking the public to help find the person responsible for her daughter’s 2016 shooting death.

Sydney Land, 21, and Nehemiah “Neo” Kauffman, 20, were gunned down Oct. 27, 2016, inside a southwest valley apartment on the 4400 block of S. Hualapai Way. Police said there was no forced entry.

A 23-year-old man was listed as a person of interest in the weeks after the double homicide, but police were unable to connect him to the crime. Police still have made no arrests in the case.

Land’s mother, Connie, said she wants people to look at the case “with fresh eyes.” letter said. “We want to empower our principal to make these decisions.”

The letter asks the board to adhere to the intent of the legislation that mandated the district reorganization, an effort to put more decision-making ability in the hands of principals and school organizational teams.

Last week, the School Board failed to vote on a draft request for proposals, effectively killing the pilot program that would have allowed outside custodial companies the opportunity to contract with 10 schools — Stanford among them.

The schools hoped to save money by using their custodial budgets to hire the outside companies instead of relying on district custodians.

Board members were concerned with outsourcing custodial jobs, although member Carolyn Edwards said the board should seriously consider proposals brought forward by principals. It’s hard to evaluate whether something is a good idea or not, she said, if they don’t allow principals to try it.