Byers' Beat is a weekly column written by the I-Team's Christine Byers, who has covered public safety in St. Louis for 15 years. It is intended to offer context and analysis to the week's biggest crime stories and public safety issues.
CLAYTON, Mo. — For 19 years, Theda Person has been on a quest to see her ex-husband brought to justice for the disappearance and death of their 9-year-old special needs son.
She did almost nothing but eat, sleep and breathe her son’s case. In a lot of ways, it became her identity.
This week, that journey ended when a St. Louis County judge sentenced Dawan Ferguson to two consecutive life sentences for the 2003 murder of Christian Ferguson.
RELATED: Mother begs ex-husband to reveal location of Christian Ferguson's remains at sentencing hearing
So, now, what for Theda Person? What’s ahead for the woman who has immersed herself in this cause for so long?
What does the way forward look like now that she’s accomplished her goal?
She reflected on the questions while gathered outside the courthouse following the sentencing hearing with reporters.
She thanked us for keeping her son’s story in the news all these years – even though without her, there wouldn’t have been a story to report.
It’s not easy to keep reporting on a story about missing children or adults when there is nothing new to report, when they’re just still missing.
It breaks my heart to explain that to people who ask me for coverage of the disappearances of their loved ones.
Person kept in touch with as many reporters as she could, planning vigils and balloon releases and other ways to mark significant milestones like missed birthdays and the anniversary of his disappearance along the way. She put in the work for media attention.
Now, she’s planning an event she has put off all this time waiting for justice to be served – a memorial service for her son.
It’s scheduled for noon on Oct. 8 at St. Teresa and Bridget Catholic Church.
She invited the media to attend, saying she wants the public to be a part of celebrating his life.
And she says that even though her son’s killer has been brought to justice, she said she still plans to raise awareness and be an advocate for missing children.
After all, her son’s body has never been found. The mission to find his remains is also a goal for her. That’s a mission with no end in sight at this point.
Person gave permission to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell to offer her ex-husband a deal just minutes before closing arguments were to begin in his first-degree murder trial: Tell us where his body is and who else was involved in his murder and we will give you 30 years on all of the charges against you.
Ferguson came back saying he would only reveal the information if he was sentenced to time served – about two years – for the murder of his son as well as having sex crime cases against him dismissed.
Bell said he walked away from the table and never looked back.
Ferguson spent about 40 minutes of his sentencing hearing blaming Theda Person for his conviction, saying she conspired to have him convicted.
The judge remarked at how Ferguson never once showed remorse over the loss of his son.
His attorney, Jemia Steele, told the judge her client didn’t express remorse during his statement because “he didn’t kill his son.”
Then why did he offer to tell prosecutors about where Christian's remains are as well as whether anyone else helped him cover it up?
Sources familiar with the case say investigators will be taking more runs at Ferguson as the weight of his eternity sets in, hoping he will reveal the information.
It's another part of Theda Person's new mission: Waiting him out.