I-Team: Connor Betts’ parents refused to talk to FBI, victim’s father says

DAYTON — Two years after Oregon District mass shooter Connor Betts opened fire, killing nine people, the FBI’s investigation is still open.

Eighteen months ago the FBI said the investigation was close to wrapping up, but what’s holding that up now?

In a statement to the I-Team, the FBI said they are “very mindful of the anniversary and its significance to the community.”

>> Oregon District Shooting: 2 years later

“We are working to provide a final assessment of the investigation and hope to have details to release in the near future, but no specific date can be provided at this time,” the FBI said.

Just days after the shooting, the FBI said “this community deserves deserves an answer...as to why this happened.

Then, in February 2020, federal investigators said “we’re very closed to wrapping it up,” referring to the investigation.

This week, the I-Team pressed the FBI for answers, asking why the investigation is still open 18 months after that statement and where are the answers federal investigators said our community deserved now two years after the murderous rampage.

Walking through the Oregon District Wednesday, Ned Pepper’s was closed in honor of the nine shooting victims and post it notes were on windows nearby with those victims names.

One of those names was Logan Turner.

“I miss him so badly,” said Mike Turner, Logan Turner’s dad. “Going back down there is very hard every time we do. Very hard. We’re going to Blind Bob’s tonight which is Dion Green’s – The Fudge Foundation is holding that event and Dayton needs that. They still need healing.”

Mike Turner said the community “lost a shining star in my eyes” when his son was one of the victims gunned down Aug. 4, 2019.

“Logan was compassionate. He had a lot of love in him. Huggable, big guy,” Mike Turner told the I-Team’s John Bedell.

What led to Logan’s death is something FBI leaders tell the I-Team they are still working to answer.

>>Families of Oregon District mass shooting victims sue firearm magazine maker

The FBI took over the investigation days after the shooting, because they said they found Betts “was exploring violent ideologies.”

This week, the FBI told the I-Team they still have not found any one group or ideology that influenced Betts. Instead, they said the investigation is focused on Betts’ interest in violence in general.

Mike Turner said the FBI met with the families of eight of the nine shooting victims last Fall, a meeting the FBI confirmed Wednesday happened last October.

The FBI declined to comment further on the meeting, but Mike said the FBI, federal prosecutors and former Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl all gave the families an investigation update.

Mike Turner told the I-Team’s John Bedell he was surprised by a lot of the things he learned during that meeting.

“The first thing they said was Connor Betts’ mom and dad refused to talk to them. That’s the only place we can get answers from. They’re the only people that know Connor Betts,” Mike Turner said.

Mike Turner said the FBI also told the families about Betts’ violent past, including facets of it that confirmed WHIO’s previous reporting.

From a vile, heavy metal spin-off band he was in, where he sang lyrics laced with sexual violence against women. To violent outbursts in high school, including hit and rape lists he made at Bellbrook High School. But, as the I-Team uncovered, Betts’ juvenile criminal record was expunged, destroyed in years leading up to his attack.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions that need answered,” Mike Turner said, adding that the final FBI report will not give him closure. He said he’ll never have that.

What Mike Turner does want is more information...information that he said the FBI can’t provide.

“I challenge his mom and dad, to help give me some more light on this situation,” Mike Turner said. “I wish that they (the Betts’) would open up their hearts and talk to us. So they could fill in the blank spaces the FBI can’t do. I don’t see how this investigation can go without talking to them, personally.”

News Center 7′s requests to interview the Betts family have gone unanswered in the two years following the shooting.

Mike Turner said his true desire is something he knows he’ll never get.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to have closure,” he told the I-Team. “I want…I want my son back. And nothing…is gonna help me do that.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

>>Oregon District Shooting: Stories of survival, hope, and change

>>The victims of the Oregon District Shooting

>>Oregon District Shooting: College seniors share their story of survival

>>Oregon District shooting: FBI continues combing through investigation

>>Oregon District Shooting: Ned Peppers Bouncer reflects on anniversary

>>City officials planning permanent memorial for Oregon District shooting victims