Family of mentally ill man fatally shot and left in the street, still waiting for justice

Who killed Jabez Brevard? A year later, his family still waits for justice

The family of a man suffering from mental illness killed last year, still doesn’t have justice.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The family of a man suffering from mental illness killed last year, still doesn’t have justice.

The backstory:

They don’t know who killed Jabez Brevard, we spoke with his family and someone from the group home where he was living, about the case.

Brevard was found shot and left for dead in the middle of the steet at Belleterre and Collingwood in Detroit, near Livernois and just north of I-96.

His family thinks he may have left his group home for a trip to the store or gas station.

"She said please get down here, it’s not looking good," said Iman'nia Barber, her sister. "She said get all your family members together."

Jabez Brevard had been shot three times. One of the bullets tore through an artery in his leg.

The damage was devastating - Brevard needed dialysis and 14 pints of blood. His body gave out after multiple heart attacks.

"Please just let us know something so we can have comfort," Barber said.

On November 23rd of last year police found him after investigating due to ShotSpotter.

By the time officers arrived, they rushed him to the hospital themselves.

"Whoever out here that did this is a coward," Barber said. "They should be reprimanded. I just hope we find justice for Jabez."

Jabez had been raised by his siblings after their mother died when he was just 8 years old They stepped in, and became his caretakers.

Now they carry the weight of staying in the fight for justice.

"It’s been really hard," his sister said. "He was like my son. It hurts. It hurts a lot."

In the year before his death, Brevard had been living in a group home near Dexter and Fullerton, he was suffering from mental illness.

"He just was everywhere. You never knew where he would be. He walked the streets a lot," she said.

He was just 22 years old. Jabez Brevard never got the chance to grow into the man he was trying to become, she said.

"He didn’t really get a chance to live," Barber said. "Before he passed he really wanted to go back to school. Everything he was trying to do—he was trying to be a better person."

FOX 2 spoke with a worker from the group home, he says there was nothing out of the ordinary from the day Brevard was killed.

Detroit police did not have updates in the case, but Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 dollar reward for information that leading to the arrest of the culprit. Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, you will remain anonymous.

Jabez Brevard