Man murdered on own doorstep, killer still on the loose 2 years later

(WJBK) - The person responsible for murdering and robbing a man on his own doorstep is still at large.

Now his mother is asking someone to step up and do the right thing.

The month of May has become a difficult time for Betty Nelson.

Her son, her only child, Derick Nelson was shot and killed around 12:30 a.m. on May, 2015, outside his apartment in the 19000 block of Cranbrook near Outer Drive and Wyoming.

He had just finished up an event, made a stop for food and according to his mother was planning to meet a friend, only to have his life taken away from him.

At this time, no strong leads for investigators to solve this case.

"I miss him. It's a nightmare every weekend. I relive this every weekend. The person that killed him, I'm sure they're reliving this every time they open their eyes," Nelson said.

It's impossible to celebrate Mother's Day knowing her son is no longer here.

"I cry. Sometimes I can't cry. He just had a birthday yesterday. He would have been 38 years old," Nelson said.

Derick Nelson was an event planner, and graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy where his mother had worked going back to the time when she was pregnant with him.

"I know people say your kids can't be your best friends, but mine was my best friend," Nelson said.

The University of Detroit planted a tree in Derick Nelson's memory. His mother continues to work there. Although, it's been more than two years, Bettie Nelson tells me she will not give up the fight in seeking justice for her son.

"And I hope that the person I'm speaking to that killed my son or was involved in his murder have the courage to come forward because their life is not a life if they are on the run from something that they did," Nelson said.

This grieving mother can only hope that if this killer doesn't come forward, someone will speak up.

"He loved his family. He loved his friends, and that's what I cannot understand," Nelson said.

If you have any information on this case, you can call crime stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up. You can remain anonymous.