MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nine months have passed since Christopher Jones-McClean was gunned down in his garage last October.
This weekend, family and friends will gather at Shelbyville Central High School to celebrate his life on Saturday, ahead of what would have been his 27th birthday on Monday.
Kimberly Thompson, McClean’s mother, chose the high school as the venue for the memorial.
You can watch Kimberly tell us about her son in the player above.
“Chris attended school here, and I thought it was the best place for his family and friends to gather,” she said.
His murder happened at his home in Murfreesboro on Cason Lane. Those suspected of killing him still remain at large despite the release of surveillance video showing two suspects and images of a maroon or red four-door sedan believed to be the getaway car.
“You go through that anger. You go through sadness because you’re missing him and anxiety because you don’t know what to do,” Thompson said. “A lot of times, you’re in a blank stare.”
Both the police and McClean’s family describe him as an upstanding man, with robbery suspected as the motive for the crime. Thompson holds on to hope that the case will be solved.
“Mainly because I want justice, and the second thing is I don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” she said.
Friends and family will celebrate McClean’s life with a balloon release this Saturday at 6 p.m. Thompson reminisced about her son’s nickname.
“His friends called him Kofi. I’ve always called him Chris," she said.
“Every year on his birthday I would call him and sing to him. It was a tradition in our family,” Thompson said. “I still want to do it. But now I can’t. It’s going to be hard.”
Thompson’s home is filled with memories of her son.
“These are gifts people have given me since he passed. This plaque here is from friends, and this was a Christmas gift from his aunt,” she said.
Despite the passage of time, Thompson continues to seek answers.
“If I had a million dollars, I would offer that much to find out who killed my son,” she said.
Anyone with information about McClean’s murder is urged to call Rutherford County Crime Stoppers at 615-893-STOP.
The family asks people to dress in white and bring white balloons for McClean’s celebration of life at Shelbyville Central High School on Saturday.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
