Cold As Ice

Erik Stirling Cross - Vicksburg, Michigan.

*This city is not far from me, therefore I took the chance to find out more about this case.

The year is 1983. Erik Cross, 16 at the time, was the new sophomore at Vicksburg High School.
On the night of June 25th, 1983, Erik was granted the permission to attend a much anticipated graduation party. People from all over the state were coming, and so were people from other states.

Red flag number one: this party was a kegger.

So he went to the party. There, he ran into a girl named Amber Thomas. It is said that he began to flirt with her, but her boyfriend, Brenton Spaulding, didn't like that.

Red flag number two: Brenton Spaulding also just-so-happened to be the town bully.

Witnesses reported seeing Erik talking to Brent, and then being pushed by him.

On the morning of June 26th, at 1 a.m, Erik walked home as others began to leave.

But Brenton and Amber did not forget him.

Witnesses also reported seeing him walking past a gas station, which had two cars in the parking lot. A light car, and a dark car.

Red flag number three: Erik was drunk and stumbling around.

It is said Erik did in fact make it home safely, but the door was locked. His dad assumed he was making his way inside, so he fell back asleep. But Erik was locked out.

After this, we aren't very sure what happened. But what we do know is that Erik was beaten, dragged by a car with a rope tied to him, and then struck with the vehicle. Police believe he was dead before being hit by the car. The car that killed Erik was reported to be the light car that he was seen with at the gas station earlier. It is believed that he may have been forced to "hood surf," a popular trend in the 1980's. This is said to be how he got his rope marks.

His killing happened between 1:00 and 5:30 a.m. At 5 a.m, a car could be heard pulling into a driveway, possibly the Cross's, and speeding away. At 5:30, Erik's father went outside to pick up the Sunday paper and found his son laying dead in a ditch in front of the house. The family ran outside in attempts to revive their son, but he was dead. His legs were broken, his skin was peeling and he was bleeding. And so happened the death of 16 year old Erik Cross.

After Erik's death, Brenton Spaulding, (who, to the date, is still the main suspect) acted out. And his car, matching the description of the murder weapon, seemingly disappeared. Police searched everywhere for it, but it was gone. He started saying weird things and acted oddly.

In 2001, Erik's case was reopened. But just like 18 years prior, they still didn't get anything to help them find the killer or killers.

Last year, in 2016, the five main suspects were named. Those named were:

- Brenton Spaulding
- Brenton Spaulding Sr.
- Amber Thomas
- Tim Martin (the brother of a friend)
And lastly, Bill Cook, who described himself as 'Erik's best friend'.

Brenton Spaulding has had a criminal history after Erik's death. His criminal record is packed and he's in jail one way or another.

As of 18 days ago, on October 4th, 2017, Erik's case was finally handed to a prosecutor in hopes of getting warrants and finally solving the case. His case has never been given to a prosecutor before, therefore this is the biggest step taken since his death.

This case has been cold for 34 years, going on 35 in June. Everyday I pass by posters reading 'Justice For Erik Cross' and it hurts my heart. This murder was cruel and unjust, and should never have happened.

Amber was heard saying, "Oh my god, I think they saw us!" Around the time of his death.

If only the door was unlocked that night. If only Erik wasn't drunk. If only he hadn't flirted with Amber.

If for any reason you have information on this case, please call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's office. Every year new witnesses come forward, but no leads turn out useful. Police say this case needs to be closed one way or another, and we cannot let a murderer get away.