The Perham family has been focusing on convicted rapist Darius Ashley, saying they believe he committed the murder. Further, they believe they now have evidence connecting Ashley to the crime.
John Aretakis, the family's attorney, described the new information.
"Two employees from Parsons called me up, originally anonymously, now not so anonymous now, have indicated that Parsons and the administration and that facility knew that Darius Ashley was having sexual relations with teenage girls at Parsons," Aretakis said.
It has been more than one year since a 14-year-old girl was brutally murdered in Albany and still no suspects have been named. The family of the victim is hoping new evidence will help bring her killer to justice.
The letter supposedly comes from an employee at the center, and it supports attorney John Aretakis' claim that Parson's never reported the alleged sexual abuse by Darius Ashely.
"There are mandatory reporting laws that legally require Parsons to turn Darius Ashley in to the police. They did not do that and as everyone knows seven days after Gretchen's death, Mr. Ashley was fired quietly," Aretakis said.
"They should have told somebody, they should have said something. Because then maybe other things could have been done and maybe it wouldn't have happened. I don't know, I wish I knew," Kim Perham said.
Parsons released a statement saying: "Upon learning that Ashley may have been involved inappropriately with a client, we suspended him immediately and began an internal investigation. The investigation led us to conclude that his behavior was inappropriate and he was immediately terminated. At the same time, Parsons notified the NYS Office of Mental Health as we are required to by law."
Officials at Parson's say they have been cooperating fully with Albany Police. And Detectives say they say they want to assure the family and residents that they haven't stopped the search for Gretchen's killer.
Albany Police detective, James Miller said, it takes time to conduct an investigation.
"You can't necessarily put a time line on an investigation, some investigators working can turn it around very quickly and bring it to a close, others take some time, they're confident they're still working that investigation and its still a priority and will continue to be a priority," Miller said.
Police aren't offering any specific details about their investigation, and are not commenting on the Perham family's accusations.