CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - There was a wake Wednesday night for Matthew McDaniel.
His parents say after days of grieving, reality is setting in: their son is really gone. And they want his killer to know that they will never give up.
"To the guy who killed my son, let's me and you talk,” said Matthew’s father Johnny. “I want to meet you. I want to show you what pain is, how I feel, what you've taken from us. Do you have kids? What about your mom and dad? How would they feel if someone killed you?”
The anger Johnny McDaniel holds in his heart is raw. His son was less than a month away from graduating from Meadowbrook High and looking forward to a possible military career.
"He had plans for the future,” McDaniel said. “He planned to do things with his life. Now it's been robbed from him."
The 19-year-old was walking home from a party from an apartment complex not far from his house. Police say he was just a few hundred feet from home when someone shot him in cold blood.
“I had just ordered his cap and gown,” said his mother, Laurie Fetty. “I don't think it's sunk in that he's not here anymore."
The flashing lights and crime tape are long gone, but a roadside memorial remains an everyday reminder of the murder mystery on Pembroke Street. Police say they're following many leads and believe someone in that area has the key piece of information they need to break this case open and provide closure for McDaniel's grieving loved ones.
"If somebody knows anything, please contact Crimesolvers,” said McDaniel. “It's anonymous and there is a reward for this."
Matthew McDaniel was known for tossing the football down the street with neighborhood kids and his love of music. Police are asking tipsters to call 748-0660.
