CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Matoaca High School student Eric Reid was killed nearly three years ago just feet from his front door in South Chesterfield a few weeks before his 17th birthday.
The teen’s mother is still grappling with her grief as no one has been arrested for the crime.
"I just remember being in my room and getting ready for work when I heard the gunshots,” Erica Jones recalled. “I heard my mom, his grandmother, screaming and I ran down the street and my child was on the ground dead."
The Matoaca student was loved by many in his friends circle, according to his mother
Eric was the older brother his siblings looked up to and he was adored by his mother.
"We're learning to cope a little bit, but it's still hard not knowing who did it," Jones said.
Several unanswered questions still linger after the murder that happened on Hickory Road in South Chesterfield in February 2021.
Police said the case is active, but officers admit the community could help.
Jones said she is disappointed that no one has come forward.
"He always had company all the time,” Jones said. “Kids would come here and stay for weeks at a time. Eric was a good kid, good spirit. I don't understand why someone would do that to Eric."
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In the wake of the unimaginable loss, Jones said she has learned to be patient.
She has stopped constantly calling detectives as she wants to give them space to do their work
While Jones is confident her son’s killer is still around, she said Eric is still around in spirit.
In fact, Jones said her other children, Eric's siblings, can frequently be found huddled around a life-size cutout of the teen in their living room.
"Every day still to this day,” Jones said. “I have a life-size cardboard [of Eric] in my living room right now and they talk to him every day. They put stickers all over him… They miss him.”
Investigators urged anyone with information about the case to come forward.
If you have information that could help detectives, call Chesterfield County Police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
