CINCINNATI — Ten years of hoping for answers. Ten years of heartbreak.
Marcus Daniels was shot and killed outside of his grandmother’s home on April 13, 2012. Nobody has been arrested in connection with the homicide.
His family and friends gathered outside of Margaret Daniels’s home Wednesday for a vigil they hold each year.
“It’s been hell,” Margaret Daniels said. “Just really, really hard.”
She said she was inside her home 10 years ago when her grandson was shot and killed. She remembers it like yesterday.
“He went out. I heard the shots. I came to the door. I knew he was gone,” she said. "He didn’t turn around and see me."
Marcus’s grandmother remembers her grandson as someone who loved sports and his family.
“There aren't too many days I don't cry and my apartment is full of pictures of him and I just look at him and I say, 'Why you baby? Why you?'" Margaret Daniels said.
Every year without answers is another year Mariah Daniels, Marcus’s daughter, spends wishing she could spend time with her dad.
“I have my family here, with me," she said. "They remind me a lot of my dad. They tell me a lot of stories about him. They tell me he loved me a lot."
Family and friends held hands in a circle — praying someone will come forward with information.
“It’s heartbreaking. Ten years we’ve stood here asking and begging the community to come forward with information,” said Karen Rumsey with Cincinnati Police Department Victim Services. “Nobody can take away the memories that you have in your heart. Don’t give up hope. Answers will come. Maybe not as soon as we’d like.”
The family released balloons at the conclusion of the vigil. They hope this will be the year they can get a sense of closure for Marcus’s death.
“I just want to know who did it,” Margaret Daniels said. "I want somebody to … pay for what they did."
Anyone with information about Marcus Daniels or the dozens of other unsolved murders in Cincinnati is asked to call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
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