The family of a Freehold woman is still looking for answers nearly one year after their daughter’s slaying.

Authorities say that Stephanie Parze, 25, was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend. The case remains open.

Ed and Sharlene Parze last saw their daughter just before Halloween. She disappeared from her Freehold home on Oct. 30, 2019; with her body turning up three months later near a highway one town away.

“It’s very hard to believe something’s so permanent. I haven’t accepted that yet,” says Sharlene Parze.

Authorities say that from the start they suspected Parze’s ex-boyfriend John Ozbilgen, but couldn’t quite gather enough evidence. Ozbilgen later took his own life and left a note.

“I had found he put his hands on her once,” says Ed Parze.

He says that he told his daughter almost right away that Ozbilgen was dangerous.

“She promised me, ‘Dad, let me take care of it. Don’t get involved.’ So, I backed out, tried to wait and see and then he did it again the next week and that’s when we had him arrested,” he says.

The situation escalated. But now authorities are reportedly still investigating whether anyone interfered with their investigation.

It is unclear how Parze died.

“It’s our daughter. We want to know everything about her,” says Sharlene Parze.

The family started the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation to keep her memory alive. The foundation has raised tens of thousands of dollars through charity events this month. The money raised will be used to help victims of domestic violence – victims Ed Parze says too often face abuse in secrecy. It is a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re making a small dent, but we’re making a dent,” says Ed Parze.

The family says that if they help even one person, then they will be doing their daughter proud. More information about the foundation can be found on its website and Facebook page.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office confirms that the case remains open, but would not provide further details.