#UNSOLVED: Man found shot to death near Greenfield Lake in 2014
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington Police are still looking for information in a shooting death near Greenfield Lake in Wilmington in 2014.
What led up to the death of Dillon Morris, 20, and who did it remain unsolved.
Morris’s mom, Jennifer Hatcher, is determined to find answers in her son’s death. The man who made her a mom in 1994.
“Dillon was really loved,” Hatcher said. “He really was by a lot of people. There is nowhere I go in Wilmington that someone doesn’t say, ‘Oh you’re Dillon’s mom or you’re Kim’s mom.'”
December 26, 2014 was the last time Hatcher ever saw her son.
“He was leaving to go to his girlfriend’s house and that was probably 8:30 at night,” Hatcher said.
Hatcher said his girlfriend was not home, so he started walking.
“He did call and said he got a ride from his homeboys is all he said,” Hatcher said.
That was the last time Hatcher ever talked to her son. Early on December 27, 2014, Detective Aricka Sidbury with the Wilmington Police Department said officers responded to a shooting near the 1600 block of East Lake Shore Drive.
“Police did respond earlier but they weren’t able to locate anyone or anything at that time,” Sidbury said.
Later that afternoon, police got a 911 call from the same area.
“There was a bystander that actually located an unknown male which was identified as Dillon Morris. He was found deceased with multiple gunshot wounds,” Sidbury said.
Sidbury said Morris’s body was found behind a brick wall, but they do not know what led up to the shooting or why he was there.
“He’s from here, so he might have possibly been with friends, but I cant’.. we haven’t been able to determine why he would be specifically in that location,” Sidbury said.
Hatcher said Morris lived with her at the time on Third street.
“He’s had friends in Garden Lake,” Hatcher said. “And I feel like he had been in Garden Lake with some friends. The detective said they said they saw three people running in Garden Lake that way.”
“There was an individual that happened to see three individuals, was not able to give a description, coming from the area whenever they heard the shots,” Sidbury said.
Police have gotten few tips over the years, but Hatcher said she has reported all of the rumors she has heard over the years.
“I’ve heard some many things since he passed,” Hatcher said. “Like the girl he was dating maybe it was.. jealousy.. I’ve heard all kinds of things.”
Neither Hatcher nor police know why this actually happened. We asked police if Dillon was involved in any drug activity or if this could have been gang related or if there was any reason Dillon was targeted.
“We can’t confirm that, but we can say he has had some run-ins with the law, nothing to where he would have deserved any of this,” Sidbury said.
“I don’t think he would have hurt anybody which is why I’m really stunned that someone who hurt him,” Hatcher said.
Police and Hatcher now asking anyone with any information to come forward.
“Anything, even the smallest, minuscule thing.. small details matter,” Sidbury said. “He was the victim of a heinous crime and at the end of the day, no matter who you are or what you’re involved in, we want to be able to get these people off the street whoever they may be. His family deserves peace just as anyone else. And if anyone knows anything, it would be just extremely helpful.”
“Please! You can be anonymous, please tell it,” Hatcher said.
“In the means of losing him, my mama.. she died 10 months from the day he died. And then my daughter had lost him, my mom, a baby and her real dad and she OD’d, so they’ve all left me. I’m here alone,” Hatcher said.
While it has been difficult, she has never lost sight of the reason she keeps fighting.
“Making them proud. I’m making them proud. I know they are looking down on me cause it’s been tough, but I have a purpose to still be here. I have a purpose,” Hatcher said.
She just wanted to find justice for the man who made her a mom.
“I just want to see.. I want some closure before I’m gone,” Hatcher said.
If you have any information, please call Wilmington Police. You can also use the Wilmington NC PD App to use an anonymous tip.
Leave a Reply