A Milwaukee family is still without closure after one of their own was murdered one year ago, and the killer is still on the loose.
This was the first Christmas without Deandre Allen.
It was 365 days ago when Deandre Allen was killed near 39th and Michigan Streets. It was the day after he celebrated Christmas with his family and six children.
"I'm heart broken," said Shannon Allen, Deandre's mother. "I'm drained."
Shannon celebrated Christmas the best she could without her son. She has a constant question lingering in the back of her mind every day: Why?
"I don't know any answers," Shannon said. "I'm asking for justice. Asking for anybody that might know something to come forward. Turn yourself in."
In the bitter Tuesday night cold, more than a dozen friends and family came to release balloons in Deandre's memory.
"This is a senseless crime and we need to get to the bottom of it," Shannon said. "It's been a whole year and I still have no answers but I will continue. [Through] rain, sleet or snow, to get answers for my child."
However, the pain in their extremities pales in comparison to the pain they feel knowing their loved one's killer is still out there.
"Someone who did it needs to come forth and stop being a coward," said Pastor Cedric Carr, Deandre's cousin. "Stand up and take responsibility for what was wrong."
Milwaukee Police say they continue to investigate and follow leads on Deandre Allen's murder. No one has been arrested.
