RALEIGH, N.C. — The search for a killer began one year ago when Stephanie Bennett was found dead in her apartment near Lake Lynn.

At 23, Bennett was about to move to South Carolina to be close to her boyfriend. She talked to one of her roommates just hours before she was murdered.

"The last time I talked to her. She was on the other line with Walter. He'd found a place for her to live. We were all just really excited about life," roommate Emily Metro said.

Bennett's roommates were out of town for the Memorial Day weekend, so she was alone the night she was attacked. Bennett was found in her bedroom, sexually assaulted and strangled.

A year later, the killer still has not been caught, but her family is confident he will be.

"We're wanting to find out who did it. We don't want another family to go through what mine has been through. It's been tough," said Molly Hodges, Bennett's mother.

"As time goes on, something is going to give. You have to have faith and patience," said Carmon Bennett, Bennett's father.

Police have spent thousands of hours chasing leads. A stereo stolen from the apartment has not turned up, but detectives will not let the case go cold.

"Every day, we come in with the attitude, what can we do today? What can we follow up on? Somewhere, we'll find the answer," said Lt. Chris Morgan, of the Raleigh Police Department.

While Bennett's family and friends wait for answers, they keep her memory alive. Bennett's sorority sisters dedicated a bench in her name at Roanoke College.