‘A broken heart inside’: Family of Conway murder victim struggles as case goes unsolved
Three years ago, Charles “Kash” Willis was murdered. Police have not made an arrest in the case, but Willis’ family’s hope has not faded.
“I see the difference this year than last year, people are talking, names are coming out. People see the [news] segment with the son ... and starting to reach out to other people,” said Cecelia Glover, his sister, who helped raise him.
“I really hope and pray this year will be the year.”
On Dec. 10, 2016, Willis’ children and their mother stopped by his home near Gerald’s Convenience Store & Grille on U.S. Highway 701 outside of Conway. The children ran inside to ask their father for money and found him shot dead.
Horry County police investigated his death and Spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov said the case remains active. Officers are still developing leads and working the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department.
Glover recently sat down to talk to The Sun News about Willis and the family’s hope for justice. Sometimes she would sound defeated and cry as she discussed the difficulties of not having answers for three years.
But, she quickly lit up when talking about Willis and why the family believes 2020 will bring justice.
In the weeks after Willis’ death, Glover said she could call Horry County police and say his name to get an update. Today she has to provide his case number and described his investigation as “cold.”
“To me that hurt, now my son is just a number in a file sitting there,” she said.
Willis was known by his nickname “Kash.” It came from a love of money and the finer things in life. He was also generous helping out others when they needed it.
Glover has developed a tradition in Willis’ honor. Before he died, she used to make seven pies on Thanksgiving and each one of the family members would take one to go. Since his death, she has given his pie to a homeless person.
“We’re honoring him every day. That makes it easier,” Glover said.
Memories of Willis are prevalent on Glover’s walls with pictures and her coffee table that housed a copy of the program from his funeral. The logo of the NFL’s New England Patriots was prevalent on every page.
It didn’t matter the game, Willis wanted to be there to support the Patriots. One year for Christmas, he bought his entire family Tom Brady shirts.
That love of football spread to Willis’ son, who Glover believes will grow up to become a Patriots player to honor his dad.
Watching Willis raise the children was a “blessing,” said Ronetta Grate, the mother of his children. Whether it be football, soccer or whatever activity the kids were into Willis was there. She described him as “a really good person.”
Grate and the children still have difficulty dealing with Willis’ death and she said they are all in therapy. She said while they might seem happy on the outside, people don’t understand how much they are hurting inside.
“It’s like smiling everyday with a broken heart inside,” Grate said. “It’s like a void.”
The holidays are tough as it marks the anniversary of Willis’ death as the family tries to celebrate. Not having Willis there is difficult, especially for his kids, Glover said.
“We’re not going to have that closure. We’re not going to feel like it was fair that his life was gone and they don’t have the person who did it,” Glover said. “Moving on, yeah we manage, we can go shopping Black Friday, we can do this.
“When you spend three years just existing and not living, it’s not good.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 8:27 AM.
