MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For several Memphis families 2020 is a year, they will never forget but it’s all for the wrong reasons.
“You see it every day,” said Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich. “This has been the most violent year that we’ve had in Shelby County.”
Memphis Police say 332 people have been violently killed in the city of Memphis in 2020.
“We got to stop this madness going on in our community,” said community activist Stevie Moore. “Somebody’s got to be willing to step up.”
These pleas for justice date back to the very beginning of 2020 with the first murder of the year.
Memphis Police found 18-year-old Sabrina Nguyen stabbed to death at the intersection of Jackson and Maple Ave on January 2.
“It’s really been depressing not having her here. This Christmas was not the same without her,” said her brother Jimmy Nguyen.
It was later determined by police her ex-boyfriend Keedrin Coppage was responsible for her death.
“It’s a struggle with me not being able to sleep because of how much I miss my little sister not being here. It’s just been a struggle for me,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen’s family is only one of the hundreds of families who have to move into the new year without their loved one.
Davisha Gonzalez lost her daughter 8-year-old Jordyn Washington to a stray bullet. Washington’s death was among the more than 30 children killed this year — another record police feared they’d see.
“I’m not going to be able to see her walk down the aisle. I’m not going to be able to take her to school,” Gonzalez said.
Like Gonzalez and so many other mothers, Arlene Cunigan continues to look for answers after she found her adoptive son Dontavious McKinzy dead in an abandon apartment unit.
“Why? What did he do so wrong for you to kill him?” Cunigan said.
All of these families are going into 2021 with only memories but some remain hopeful that justice will be served.
“Do everything that you can to make the loved one that you lost proud because they’re looking down on you and watching over you,” Nguyen said.
Several of these murders still remain unsolved. If you know anything that could lead to an arrest and bring these families peace, call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.