DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind — Day after day, Petrina Cross sits in her living room chair, waiting for her phone to ring to find out the man arrested for killing her daughter has been charged.
"I mean, like right now, it still doesn't feel real," said Cross, the mother of Lyn Cedras, who was killed in July.
Lyn was a mother of two little boys, Robbie and Brandon. She was also the only child to Cross.
"She's always got a smile. I used to always say, you know, when she was growing up, I never knew what to expect when she walked downstairs. One day she might have her boots on and a Chevy T-shirt then the other times she might've come down looking girly as a girl can be," said recalled Cross.
Investigators with the Delaware County Sheriff's Office say Lyn was hit by a truck as she was pushing a golf cart down a country road on July 31.
The driver, deputies say, was drunk and going between 70 to 80 mph in a 30 mph zone.
"He pulled up a tattoo of hers. It was three hearts. One that signified Roland, her husband, and then one for each one of the boys. And then we were like, yeah, that's Lyn," said Cross.
According to court documents, Jordan Zerbe was arrested that same day for operating while intoxicated causing death, but hours later, he would be released from jail after posting bond.
"That's really great. He gets to be with his friends and my daughter is laying on a cold slab," said Cross as she thought back to when she heard the news.
After over a month without charges, Zerbe was finally charged Friday, Sept. 6 with two counts of causing death while operating a motor vehicle with an ACE of .08 or more, reckless homicide, theft, operating while intoxicated endangering a person and operating a vehicle with Alcohol Concentration Equivalent to at least .08 but less than .15.
13News reporter Chase Houle asked the Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman why it took so long to charge Zerbe and he says it was partly because of "triaging."
"Let's say on any given weekend, let's just say there are 60 people arrested and 40 of them post bail and 20 of them do not. So, those 20 that do not, I have to get charges filed in so many hours. Typically 48 hours or so. So when somebody is on bail, it's not to say you're not going to get charged, because you definitely will, the question is, 'When?'" explained Hoffman.
Cross said she's frustrated that it took so long to hold someone accountable and Hoffman said she has every right to be, but he said when dealing with homicides, it sometimes takes time to build a case.
"A lot of people think things happen in the criminal justice system quickly. They happen, but not nearly as quickly as they think they will," stated Hoffman.