CINCINNATI — A year ago, Alan Davis Holcomb was shot and killed inside his apartment complex in Hartwell.
Police have yet to arrest anyone nor name any suspects.
Holcomb's family held a memorial Friday where they announced they're offering a reward for any information that will lead to an arrest and conviction in the 39-year-old's murder.
Holcomb's family said they've pooled together $2,500. That's now in addition to a $2,500 reward offered by Crimestoppers for any information regarding Holcomb's death.
On the morning of July 5, 2023, police responded to the 5300 block of Kingsway Court for a shooting. There, they found Holcomb shot to death in a yard at The Williamsburg Apartments.
Kisha Ivory, Holcomb's aunt, said he lived in the complex, in a building just around the corner. He'd shared an apartment with his mother, Debora Wilson, for more than 20 years.
Ivory said her family's spent the last year trying to understand how someone could shoot Holcomb. He had returned home with his mother July 4 from a fireworks show, then his mother left to get food, Ivory said. When his mother didn't see him when she returned from the store, Ivory said she just assumed he'd gone to bed.
Holcomb's mother woke up the next morning and saw police outside and crime scene tape preventing her from leaving for work, Ivory said. Not long after, police told her they were investigating her son's murder.
"Until you're in these shoes, like you, you'll never understand this feeling," Ivory said. "Like I've had friends that have lost family members, but I wasn't in their shoes and like now that I'm in their shoes, I don't wish this on anybody."
Ivory said her and her nephew shared a love of the San Francisco 49ers.
"So that was our thing, like just on Sundays talking about the games and what happens if the 49ers go to the Super Bowl and how to celebrate," Ivory said.
She said she misses the random phone calls between the two of them, and the quality time they'd having, like celebrating the Fourth of July.
Ivory also has a message for those who think it's OK to take somebody's life: don't do it.
"When you make that decision to take a gun and to take somebody's life for whatever reason -- you're destroying families," she said.
Like the rest of her family standing at Holcomb's memorial Friday, Leah McKinney struggled to fight back tears. Standing near the spot where her cousin spent his final moments was an overwhelming feeling, she said.
"Kind of feel stuck in the same place," McKinney said. "There's no resolution, There's no answer so it feels like this day last year."
Yet, through all of the pain the last year has brought Holcomb's family, they're not giving up hope.
"I believe that someone knows something and someone saw something and even if they didn't see it, they've heard," said Leah McKinney, Holcomb's cousin. "I'm certain that someone knows something and I just beg that they come forward."
Holcomb's family said he was a homebody. They said Holcomb would tell everyone he knew that he loved them and was always looking out for others and willing to lend a helping hand.
"His mom needs that closure, like this was her only child. Like she doesn't have any grandchildren. This was it for her, you know what I mean? So the rest of her days is going to be missing her only child," Ivory said. "So, we're just asking please — if anybody has heard anything. You might think it's nothing but it could be something, so just call and report it."
If you have information about Holcomb's murder, you can reach Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
