Police still hope to find the killers of a 27-year-old Triangle, Va., man who was shot to death in 1988. He left behind a five-year old son. James Marshall was in his apartment on Aug. 16 of ’88 when two African-American men in their early 20s pulled up in a red Chevy Nova. Witnesses saw Marshall answer the door after they knocked on it and let them in.
Then there was a loud argument followed by gunfire.
The men shot Marshall in the face. He ran out of the apartment, followed by the two men, who shot him several more times.
Marshall ran down the street to a flower shop his parents owned, where he collapsed and died in front of his father’s office.
His mother, Gisela, said she believes he was killed because he owed someone money for drugs.
“He was nice to everybody, but became friends with the wrong people,” she said.
Paul Masterson, a cold case homicide detective from Prince William County, said the killers were probably working for someone else.
“It appears it’s a hired hit,” he said.
The autopsy didn’t indicate that he had used drugs recently. His mother said that three weeks before the killing, he became a Christian.
“It was just like a dim light brightened up,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to die like that.”
She said that though her son was killed more than 20 years ago, she still hopes his killers will be apprehended.
“I’m 75 years old,” she said. “I think it’s time that I know who killed my son.”
Anyone with information on the case can anonymously call Crime Solvers toll-free at 866-411-TIPS, and potentially receive a reward of up to $1,000.
