MADISON, Wis. -- The family of a Madison man who was killed earlier this year met with the state attorney general Thursday.

VIDEO: Watch The Report | VIDEO: South Side Police Captain Counters Criticism

Lou and Debbie Marino said last week that they are upset with the Madison Police Department's handling of the case and requested that the investigation into Joel Marino's slaying be taken up by state officials.

The Marinos met with Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen on Thursday.

"The mere fact that we're here today, I think the police will be working probably a little bit harder, a little bit smarter. And I hope so, for the sake of my son and the sake of this city," Lou Marino said.

Also on Thursday, new details emerged in the case from Betty Parman, Joel Marino's grandmother. It was Parman's birthday on the day Marino was killed, and Parman said she was on the phone with him just before the slaying happened.

Parman said she heard noises over the phone line. Parman said she was surprised by how little police asked her about what she heard.

But the police captain in charge of the Marino investigation said he is "totally shocked" by Parman's statements. Capt. Jim Wheeler of the south district said his officers in fact talked to the grandmother twice and "asked her everything we needed to ask her for this investigation."

Wheeler said Thursday that he is confident his team is doing a good job investigating the Marino slaying.

But Wheeler said he and his team are frustrated after being hit with three negative reports -- the Marino family meeting with the attorney general; Parman's comments and an Isthmus article questioning their response to a possible sighting of the man suspected in the Marino killing.

Two officers in two squads were dispatched on March 21, one minute after a man called the non-emergency dispatch, saying he'd been a key witness in the Marino killing and that he'd just seen the suspect again, walking down the sidewalk.

The squads arrived three minutes later and found nothing, but the caller told the Isthmus that no one called him right away and that he had to call the south district later.

Wheeler said he's still needs to listen to the dispatch tapes to complete his investigation of the police response and talk to the caller. But so far, Wheeler said he is seeing no red flags.

"I didn't see anything in there yet with the basic information I have to cause for me to have concerns that the officers did something wrong," Wheeler said. "We are still upbeat about the investigator, and we're pretty dedicated and committed to this investigation. And were confident that will be able to find the killer and we'll be able to bring him or her to justice."

Wheeler said his detectives have followed up more than 160 tips, generating 2,000 pages of reports and a list of 80 potential suspects who so far have been cleared.

He said their work has taken investigators as far north as Tomahawk and as far south as Houston.

Wheeler said he has one lead detective working the homicide full-time daily, plus help from south side officers and other city detectives.

Still, he said he is frustrated with what he sees as one-sided reports tossing out information that isn't properly checked out or balanced. Wheeler said if this "spectacle" goes on, it will do a disservice to the whole investigation.