Unsolved Murders
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Ta’Darrius Omar Debodre Jones Murder: Birmingham Family Seeks Justice
Birmingham, Alabama | June 12, 2024 A loved one of Ta’Darrius Omar Debodre Jones reached out to The Vivid Faces of the Vanished with one hope—that his story would continue to be shared until the person responsible is identified. No family should have to beg for answers. No child should have to grow up wondering…
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Shanae Beacham Murder: Miami Gardens Cold Case Remains Unsolved
Miami Gardens, Florida | October 26–27, 2010 Nearly 16 years have passed, but for Shanae Beacham’s family, time has never erased the pain. Shanae’s cousin recently reached out to The Vivid Faces of the Vanished, asking us to help share her story and keep her name alive. Like so many families still searching for answers,…
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Lamar B. Drakes Murder: Chicago Family Seeks Justice in Unsolved Roseland Shooting
Chicago, Illinois | June 21, 2021 Some mothers spend their lives celebrating their children’s accomplishments. Others spend their lives searching for the person who took them away. Lamar B. Drakes’ mother, Dorothy Riles, reached out to The Vivid Faces of the Vanished with one request: Please don’t let my son’s story be forgotten. Today, we…
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Antonio Quantrell “Big Trell” Taylor Murder: Chattanooga Cold Case Remains Unsolved
Antonio Quantrell “Big Trell” Taylor Murder: Chattanooga Cold Case Remains Unsolved Chattanooga, Tennessee | July 3, 2010 Antonio Quantrell “Big Trell” Taylor had everything to look forward to. He and his fiancée, Shunoa Jacks, were just three months away from their wedding. Their baby boy was only 5 months old. Neither of them knew their…
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Kory Nathaniel Fredericks Murder: South Carolina Teen’s Killing Remains Unsolved
HE HAD JUST GRADUATED. HE HAD EARNED A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP. DAYS LATER, HE WAS SHOT TO DEATH IN A CROWDED PARKING LOT. THE UNSOLVED MURDER OF KORY NATHANIEL FREDERICKS Spartanburg County, South Carolina | June 22, 2025 Kory Nathaniel Fredericks had his entire future ahead of him. The 17-year-old Duncan, South Carolina, resident had recently…
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Lajan Grimes Murder: Memphis Police Seek Tips in Unsolved Homicide
SOMEONE LEFT A 74-YEAR-OLD WOMAN’S BODY BEHIND AN ABANDONED HOME — SHE WASN’T IDENTIFIED FOR MONTHS THE MURDER OF LAJAN GRIMES Memphis, Tennessee | February 7, 2026 For months, a family waited without answers. Now, investigators are asking for the public’s help to solve the murder of 74-year-old Lajan Grimes. On February 7, 2026, at…
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Willie Mae McCloud Murder: Columbus Cold Case Remains Unsolved
Columbus, Ohio — May 23, 2005 Willie Mae McCloud was known for her kindness. She was 56 years old. Outgoing. Friendly. A familiar face on the east side of Columbus. Although she struggled with mental health challenges and addiction, those who knew Willie Mae remembered her as someone who always spoke to people, laughed with…
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Trellis Sykes Murder: Houston Teen’s 1994 Cold Case Remains Unsolved
Houston, Texas (Sunnyside) — May 13, 1994 Trellis Sykes was 16 years old—an honor roll student and a talented basketball player at Worthing High School. She lived with her grandmother, May Sykes, in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood, where friends and family remembered her as a joyful teenager with big dreams and a bright future. But on…
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Kirk Douglas Becker II Murder: Columbus Cold Case Remains Unsolved
Columbus, Ohio — March 13, 2010 It was an early March morning. The kind of morning when families wake up, start coffee, and get ready for work. The kind of morning that feels ordinary. But on March 13, 2010, that ordinary morning shattered. Around 8:30 a.m., the body of 24-year-old Kirk Douglas Becker II was…
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Marcus and Javon VanCleaf Murders: One Columbus Family Lost Three Loved Ones to Gun Violence
Columbus, Ohio — 2014–2020 Some families experience tragedy once. The VanCleaf family endured it three times. The family of Marcus and Javon VanCleaf, along with their nephew Erick Peeples, contacted The Vivid Faces of the Vanished because their story is not about a single act of violence. It is about years of grief, unanswered questions,…