LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Stefni Powell's son was killed in 2015. Now, as many people prepare to spend Thanksgiving with their families, there will be an empty chair at her dinner table.
"Gyasi Spotts was the life of the party," said his mom Stefni Powell. "He did not meet a stranger. He could talk to a wall and the wall would respond. He had that magnetic personality that everybody was just drawn to," she continued. "He was just such a sweet, sweet person, sweet spirit."
Stefni said Gyasi was a mama's boy and they had a tight bond. A bond that was forever broken on November 28, 2015, just two days after Thanksgiving. Stefni was at a party when she got the phone call that changed her life.
"My daughter kept calling, at a party you’re not paying attention to too much," said Stefni. "And so I called her back and she said you've got to come home now. And I was like, 'ok what’s going on' and she said, 'I think it’s Gyasi.'"
Stefni learned her son Gyasi had been killed. He was found shot to death inside a car on Goldsmith Lane near the Turtle Creek Apartments.
The news left her shaken. At 23 years old, her son was gone.
"Numb like it can’t be, I see this on TV all the time. It’s not happening to me. It can’t be," said Stefni.
Louisville Metro Police have not identified any suspects. They think it was a robbery gone bad. Stefni said she believes the same thing, but for her, it doesn't change what happened.
"I honestly believe it was a mistake. But even though it was a mistake, it still killed my son," said Stefni--$2,600. When I went to pick up his belongings a year later, it was still in his wallet- $2,600."
The money was still there, the answers are not.
The murder of Gyasi Spotts is considered a cold case.
It’s one of about 250,000 unsolved murders in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice. It's a number that increases by about 6,000 each year with Louisville Metro adding to it.
LMPD"s online database shows unsolved cases dating back to 2005. In 2015, the year Gyasi was killed there were 37. Last year in 2021, 117 murders were left unsolved.
Stefni said would like for LMPD to change her son’s murder from a cold case to a closed case by doing one thing.
"Just a little more attention," said Stefni. "I feel like it’s just a couple of notches away.
WHAS11 has reached out to LMPD for information on this case. We first reached out on October 7. We emailed again on October 28, November 1, November 2, and November 9. LMPD's spokespeople has not responded to our requests for an on-camera interview.
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