Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Violet Rozier, 46, sits with two of her son Deonta's children, Ky'onna Ward, 2, back, and Andrea Rozier, 5 months, in front of Deonta's urn at her home Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Champaign.
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UPDATE: Man was shot in chest
CHAMPAIGN — A year and a day after 21-year-old Deonta Rozier was found dead in a field north of Urbana, his mother still waits for her son to come home.
"Terrible. Just terrible," Violet Rozier said Wednesday. "I can't believe this happened to him. I can't believe they haven't found the person or people that killed him. There's not even a why."
On the anniversary of the discovery of Mr. Rozier's body, family and friends gathered Wednesday evening at the grieving mother's Champaign home while law enforcement asked for the public's help in finding his killer.
They've run out of leads.
Police first responded to the 5900 block of North Lincoln Avenue just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2017, after a property owner spotted Mr. Rozier's body in a field between Leverett and Ford Harris roads.
A preliminary autopsy by the Champaign County coroner revealed that Mr. Rozier died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. After having little concrete information to look into in the immediate aftermath, tips and communications flowed in steadily for a few months. But since June, said Champaign County Sheriff's Lt. Curt Apperson, it's been mostly quiet.
"We're at a stopping point," Apperson said. "Whenever we can't solve a murder, we look at it as a failure."
Police have more information now, but it's not much. Apperson said they received a tip about a dark-colored vehicle being involved. The tipster described it as having "fancy wheels."
DWS News & Interviews
Champaign County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Curt Apperson provides the latest on the investigation into the death of Deonta Rozier, who was found dead a year ago today.
Apperson said it appears there was some sort of altercation in the car, the car stopped, and Mr. Rozier was attacked. Evidence suggests he made it out of the car and wandered over to the field, where he was later found dead.
Despite his associations with the "Northwood" street gang, police don't have evidence to suggest Mr. Rozier was "tagged" or "marked," nor do they have information that ties the case to gang activity. It was the first place they looked, Apperson said.
His mother also doesn't believe Deonta's death was gang-related.
But after conducting interviews and collecting tips, Apperson said it's very likely that police have already talked to the killer; they just can't prove it.
"If you look at everybody he was associated with, everyone who liked him and didn't like him — and we've already spoken with most of them — I think one could conclude that we've spoken to someone that either was involved in the shooting or did the shooting," Apperson said.
Mr. Rozier had a years-long history with police. He was charged with five felonies involving aggravated battery and multiple times for burglary between the time of his 16th birthday and his death at 21, according to court records.
But his mother describes him as a funny and loving father of seven who was taken from them far too soon.
"He did his things in the past; he wasn't a saint," Violet Rozier said. "He drank like anybody else, smoked like anybody else. But he wasn't bothering anyone. He was getting his life together. He was looking out for his kids."
For Lenora Rozier, 29, her brother's death also meant losing her best friend. It's still not any easier to deal with, she said. She doesn't know whom to trust and finds herself constantly looking over her shoulder since her family suspects it was one of Deonta's friends who killed him.
"There are certain things you can only tell your best friend," Lenora Rozier said. "And it's like, I go to call him or send him a message and knowing the fact that he's not going to reply is a really bad feeling."
Mr. Rozier's family still has hope. And Apperson said he's convinced someone in the community knows more than they've shared about the case, despite a year of dead ends.
"The longer it goes, the worse chances we get," Apperson said. "But there's always hope."
Anyone with information related to Mr. Rozier's death is asked to call sheriff's detectives at 217-384-1213 or Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477.