It took 12 years, but authorities closed Shaquita Bell’s murder case this week, thanks in part to one anguished mother’s plea and another’s personal connections.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier reopened the case last summer after her own mother told her about a television news report describing the anniversary of Bell’s death. On TV, Bell’s mother pleaded for the then-newly appointed Lanier to reopen the case.