An Ulster County mom is demanding answers and the truth one year after her son was beaten and left to die in a Kingston parking lot while on his way home from work.

Donna Augustine's son, Steven, is in a vegetative state and a paraplegic. The 31-year-old father of two was left without half his skull and brain following the attack.

Augustine says the doctor told her it was definitely blunt-force trauma and that he was hit multiple times.

However, Augustine says Ulster County authorities charged the person responsible with misdemeanor assault, saying their investigation found that her son was punched once and hurt himself while falling to the ground. Augustine says she finds that hard to believe.

"I just want to know what happened to him," says Augustine. "It's impossible what they said happened."

Steven's attacker was released after pleading guilty and serving nine months behind bars.

"I can't find out the truth and nobody is investigating," says Augustine.

Augustine says it took Kingston police four days to take pictures of her son and collect DNA evidence at the hospital following the attack. She says she was told different versions of what happened by Kingston police and the district attorney's office.

She hopes now someone will see her story and take a second look at their case.

"I will never give up hope," says Augustine. "Where there's life, there's hope."