DETROIT – The family of Marshall Ashford is still waiting for justice for his death. They called the Local 4 Defenders to share their story, hoping it might encourage someone to come forward and share what they know about his death.
The 61-year-old was found shot outside his home on Cornwall near East Outer Drive on Detroit's east side on August 8, 2015.
"We just haven't forgot him, you know, every holiday, it just, it just won't go away. We just want some kind of closure," his mother, Myrtis Ashford, said.
According to Crime Stoppers, Marshall Ashford stepped out of his home that night. He was killed between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
It's unknown why Marshall Ashford was outside.
VIEW: Crime Stoppers poster for Marshall Ashford
"I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. At that time, they had said he had been laying out there in the streets two or three hours," MyrtisAshford said. "That busy street, I just couldn't imagine nobody seeing him."
Marshall Ashford's brother said he had grown very close to him as they got older.
"Great guy, and I'm not saying it because he was my brother. I'm saying it because it's the truth," Kenneth Ashford, his brother, said.
Marshall Ashford was a cook in the U.S. Army, worked at Chrysler and was active with the auto workers union. He also volunteered as a cook at his church.
His family said he had made mistakes but was a good man.
"He wasn't all good, and he wasn't all bad, but his good outweighed his bad. I knew he was on drugs and stuff like that, but he picked himself up and did what he thought he could do," Myrtis Ashford said. "I always told him, 'How come you don't get a job trying to teach the other guys how to get off drugs?' And he said, 'I can do enough around in the neighborhoods and stuff like that.'"
"I don't think he had any enemies, and if he did have them, didn't nobody know. The family didn't, or didn't nobody show it," Kenneth Ashford said. "Just the fact that somebody could walk right up on you and shoot you the one time in your heart and kill you, and that's it, and then get back in their car. I don't get that."
There are no witnesses to Marshall Ashford's death and no gunman has been named. His family believes someone knows something and wants them to come forward.
"Just tell somebody," Myrtis Ashford said.
Crime Stoppers has a reward of up to $2,500 for information that can help solve Marshall Ashford's death. The number to call is 1-800-SPEAK-UP. Callers remain anonymous.
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