BLOOMINGTON - The father of murder victim Joshua Embry complained Wednesday that authorities have not kept him informed of what's going on in the criminal case involving his son's alleged killer.

Robert L. "Scrappy" Embry said a miscommunication with prosecutors that caused family members to miss a brief court appearance for accused murderer Joshua McGuire was the last straw.

"Nobody is telling us anything. I'm tired and I'm upset. They need to contact us like they said they would," Embry said of authorities.

Embry's 26-year-old son was stabbed to death in November during a fight in the 500 block of North Center Street in Bloomington. McGuire, 22, faces murder charges in the stabbing death.

The ongoing court appearances for McGuire may be a way for the Embry family to obtain answers about what happened to the victim, said Embry.

"We don't know what happened down there, what went wrong," Embry said of his son's death.

Information on court dates has come from a check of the county's Web sites, said Embry. Embry and other relatives were sitting outside the courtroom waiting for a meeting with Chief Felony Prosecutor Mark Messman when the status hearing took place.

Messman talked briefly with the Embrys after the hearing but the family's frustrations were not resolved.

Embry said the family has also missed at least three previous hearings.

In court, Public Defender Amy Davis asked that the state turn over copies of surveillance tapes from several businesses in the area.

Messman said tapes from at least two businesses captured the altercation. Video from other businesses contain footage that also may relate to the incident, he said.

The tapes are at the Bloomington Police Department and must be transferred to another format before they can be given to the defense, said the prosecutor.

McLean County Judge Paul Lawrence gave the state seven days to turn over the materials.

An April 6 hearing is scheduled to review the status of the case.