NEW HAVEN--A 16th birthday is not typically celebrated at a cemetery. But one New Haven family had no other option.
An August triple-shooting left 15-year-old Jacob Craggett dead, preventing the youngest of five Craggett boys from reaching his 16th birthday, which would have been today, Nov. 17.
“The only thing he ever really talked about was his 16th birthday,” said his brother, Jordan Craggett, a high school senior. “Knowing that he can’t see his 16th birthday, when I was able to experience that, it was like my big brother duties were just taken away from me."
Another brother, 23 year-old Joshua Craggett, was shot five times during the incident that left his brother dead, but he survived.
New Haven police declined to comment on the status of the investigation into the crime, which occurred approximately one block from Yale-New Haven Hospital, on the same street where Craggett’s cousin, Jason Craggett, was shot to death ten years ago.
Jacob, who had dreams as big as his 6-foot-five, 270-pound frame--he played for Hillhouse High School's football team--is buried next to his cousin.
Family and friends gathered by Jacob’s grave in heavy rain late Monday afternoon to sing "Happy Birthday." “I miss you so,” his mother, Lisa, said softly as she kissed his headstone.
Lisa Craggett says she holds the driver of the car her sons were in when the shooting occurred, 22-year-old Timothy Jones, responsible for her son’s death. She said it’s clear Jones was feuding with someone. “If you have a beef with someone, to that extent, why would you let someone [not involved in the feud] get in your car,” she asked.
“You shot the wrong person,” said Lisa, who wants justice for her son.
