CONSTANTINE, Mich-- It was a case that shocked the West Michigan community and went unsolved for years.
Now, a year after Jodi Parrack's killer was sentenced to prison time, the little girl who helped police find them is sharing her story with Crime Watch Daily.
Parrack went missing after leaving a friend's house in November 2007. Her body and her bike were later found in the Constantine Township Cemetery. The 11-year-old had been sexually assaulted, and tortured prior to her death, which officials say was caused by strangulation.
Parrack's murder went unsolved for years.
In 2014, there was movement on the case after Raymond McCann, a former reserve officer for Constantine was arrested and charged with perjury in the case after he made the suggestion to search the cemetery where Jodi's body was found. He pleaded No Contest in the case but still maintains he had nothing to do with her death.
"It was just one of the places to search that was on my mind. I was searching the whole night through different places it was just a place I hadn't got to search yet," McCann told Crime Watch Daily (CWD).
Investigators' big break in the case came in August 2015, when a 10-year-old named Mackenzie Stafford was lured into a garage belonging to Daniel Furlong in White Pigeon.
"He asked me if I could go in his garage and help him and I said sure. All of a sudden he pulls me back and just grabbed me," Stafford told CWD. "He said shut up or I'll kill you."
Stafford was able to fight Furlong off and run away.
Once police learned about that incident, they began looking at Furlong for the Parrack murder. A month later, they were able to match Furlong's DNA to two DNA samples found on Parrack's clothing.
The evidence eventually led to a confession from Furlong, and a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder. In exchange for that plea, other charges, including felony murder and second degree sexual assault were dropped.
In January 2016, Furlong was sentenced to spend the next 30-60 years in prison for Jodi's murder. The judge also said the punishment was for the attack on Mackenzie Stafford.
It's justice that Parrack's family says they never gave up on.
"I had to find out who killed her. If it would have took to the day I died, I never would have gave up on that and that was just for her," said Parrack's mother, Valerie Gibson.
Furlong remains on police radar even while behind bars. Investigators are still looking into whether he's connected to the 1997 disappearance of 6-year-old Brittney Beers. Furlong denies any involvement in that case.
You can catch Crime Watch Daily weekdays at 3 p.m. on FOX 17.
