Nine months, six, ten, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen — Those are the ages of the eight children whose murders this year in Memphis remain unsolved. Now the U.S. Marshals Service is putting up $50,000 for information that identifies and leads to the arrest of the killers.
“It’s sad that reward money must be offered to get someone to come forward with information about the murders of children, but that’s where we are right now,” said Shelby County District Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich in the office’s October newsletter.
In a recent televised plea, U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller, Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings and Weirich called on members of the community to “step up and do the right thing.”
In 2020, there have been 28 homicides of children, 22 of them murders. Fourteen of the cases have been solved., but eight have not been.
The victims in the eight unsolved cases are:
* Jadon Knox, 10, shot Jan. 19 on a porch in the 700 block of Josephine Ave.;
* Ashlynn Luckett, 6, and her cousin, Lequan Boyd, 16, shot Jan. 20 in their residence in the 6800 block of Kirby Mills Cove;
* Hilda Trejo, 9 months, died from inflicted trauma Jan. 22 in a home in the 4600 block of Willow Road;
* Jalen Dodge, 17, shot March 18 in the 1600 block of Sunset St.;
* Tyrell Jones, 15, shot May 7 in the 4000 block of Barron Ave.;
* Alajah Reynolds, 16, shot on July 11 in a vehicle in the 3100 block of E. Glengarry Drive, and
* Demetrius Robinson, 17, shot Sept. 3 in the 3800 block of Elvis Presley Blvd.
Tips to CrimeStoppers (901-528-CASH) are anonymous. The U.S. Marshals Service will pay up to $5,000 for each murder.
Unity Walk Against Gun Violence
Memphis and Shelby County residents will take part in a Unity Walk Against Gun Violence on Nov. 14. The backdrop is that Memphis has already set a single-year homicide total – 255 and counting – in 10 months.
The two-mile walk is scheduled for 10 a.m., beginning and ending at the Juvenile Court and Forensic Center parking lots at Poplar and Orleans. The rain date is November 21. Masks and social distancing are mandatory.
