Family and friends of a little girl from Monroe who was murdered almost 50 years ago are speaking out in hope of changing a state law.

"We all went into the woods, never thinking that there could be something so horrific lurking around the corner in our little neighborhood," said Cindie Dnistrian, from Monroe.

June 22, 1977 was the last day of school in Monroe. Neighborhood kids on Williams Road were out in the woods playing and celebrating. Renee Freer, 8, was one of them.

"They found Renee battered and bludgeoned to death. Changed our childhood that night. Changed everything," said Dnistrian.

Hours later, police found Freer dead in the woods. Police believe a large rock beside her was the murder weapon and that her killer was a little bit older than her. People in town couldn't understand why someone would kill her.

"I was devastated. My teacher brought me into our classroom, and I sat with a bunch of other little girls and we just cried," said Freer's best friend, Tawny Syrotiak.

Monroe police submitted a juvenile arrest warrant to the state's attorney for her alleged killer on July 11 this year, 48 years later. But in September, the state's attorney declined to approve the warrant for manslaughter because the statute of limitations expired.

"It's wrong. He got away with murder, and he's living his life, and Renée didn't have that choice. She didn't have a choice to have children and be an adult. Her life was just taken away. She was tossed in the woods, and this person has continued on as if nothing ever happened," said Freer's cousin, Lisa Victoria.

In Connecticut, a child under the age of 14 cannot be tried for murder as an adult. They are handled in the juvenile justice system. Freer's family and friends are trying to change that.

"We want this to be her legacy now. We want her to be remembered for something and unless you go through something this traumatic as a friend, close friend or a family member you don't realize really what the laws are in Connecticut and this would protect all children victims in Connecticut, and I'm not saying that it should be clear cut you know but it's something that they need to look at," said Dnistrian.

"This law is going to be her voice, so no family will ever suffer the way we have, and this law will help other families and the other children," said Syrotiak.

Friends and family are hoping to introduce the bill next week during Connecticut's special legislative session in Hartford.

Police have closed Freer's case. This bill is a chance for justice that to this point has not come.

News 12 Connecticut reached out to the Monroe town attorney for comment but has not heard back.