Larry Donnell Lacy, Not #7

Imagine you are at home, sitting just over one thousand miles away from your son, and you learn of your son's murder by reading a newspaper article. This is the case with Ms. Duncan of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Her son, Larry Donnell Lacy, was in a relationship with a woman he loved, and they had a child on the way. During the day, Larry was actively looking for work to remain in El Paso and start a family. His hopes, dreams, and future were snatched away.

I met with Larry's mom at her son's apartment. When we opened the door, what we saw spoke to the horrors Larry suffered - the seemingly careless disregard for human life.

"Larry came here a couple years ago, in the Army, and he was stationed at Fort Bliss," says Ms. Duncan. "He built a relationship with a girl, and he has a baby on the way."

Keri Duncan wanted to talk about her son and share a bit about who he was because she doesn't like how the El Paso Police Department and local media referred to him as a number seven.

"The news just talks about him like as number seven. That's how they describe my son as a number," says Ms. Duncan. "I just want the world to know that he's not a number. He has a name."

Larry, who was discharged from the United States Army, wanted to plant his roots here, in El Paso. His family and I've also spoken with his sister and a cousin; all loved Larry and wanted nothing more than for him to come home. Larry wanted to stay here.

Everyone I've spoken with says the same thing: Larry was a loving, caring young man who would go the extra mile to help you. After walking through his apartment, it was evident that he was sharing his home with someone else, maybe helping them get on their feet.

"He would give you the shirt off the back," says Ms. Duncan. "That's what caused; I believe what caused his murder is because he was too genuine and too nice, and people took advantage of him."

Ms. Duncan is worried about something that was said about

"I believe that he's being labeled as a junkie or a nobody. And, you know, that's not true," says Ms. Larry. "My son was very much somebody; he was far from a junkie. He didn't use drugs, maybe smoked. That's it. So, I don't understand why the police are not making this a priority of trying to track my son's killer, killers."

One of the officers was heard saying, by a witness who lives in the apartment complex, as saying, "He was a user," indicating that Larry was using drugs.

Below is my short interview with Ms. Duncan.

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When we parted, Ms. Duncan went to speak with the detective on the case.

Detective De La Riva told Ms. Duncan that she took the job as a police officer to be the people's voice and takes her job seriously. De La Riva said that she was passionate about her job and assured Ms. Duncan that she would make an arrest.

"Even though she found a way to comfort me," says Ms. Duncan, "I still told her all the problems I had with what I saw at my son's house and how I thought they were doing things."

How does she feel about the police now?

"I'm on a fence," says Ms. Duncan, "about them doing anything. I do get good vibes from them [the police], but I don't trust them right now. I still don't trust them; people are evil."

Her final words during a follow-up phone call?

"To take my child and do what they did to him, that's evil as shit," says Keri Duncan, the mother of Larry.

Larry's family is working to get their son, brother, and friend home. The family has started a GoFundMe in hopes of bringing Larry home. If you would like to help, click below: