Family demands justice after 19-year-old Brooklyn man found dead not far from home
NEW YORK -- A family in mourning is looking for answers after a 19-year-old man who went missing Monday was found dead just minutes away from his Flatbush, Brooklyn home.
CBS2 spoke with family members on Thursday.
"We love him, we love him, and I'm so sorry that this happened to him," aunt Tamika Matthews said of DeAndre Matthews.
They are coping with unimaginable grief over his tragic death.
"I want justice for my son," mother Danielle Matthews said. "My son got off of work Monday and then that was it."
DeAndre Matthews, also known as Dre, left his job at detail shop Buggy Service Center in Crown Heights, near his home, at around 5 p.m. On Tuesday, his mother's Jeep Cherokee was found a few minutes away, on Troy Avenue, burned. His body was then found near Nostrand Avenue on train tracks, police say also burned.
His mother was able to find this out by tracking the car down. He was her only son.
"This is disgusting. Like, my brother didn't do anything to nobody, and I can really say that. He wasn't in a gang. He wasn't a violent kid. He wasn't a bad kid. You know what I'm saying? He stayed in the house," sister Dajanae Gillespie said.
DeAndre Matthews was known for his sense of humor. He loved driving, spending time with his family, and playing video games.
"We don't know nothing. We don't know anything and my sister, she don't deserve this at all, at all," Tamika Matthews said.
"He was just so nice to people, just always too nice, and sometimes people could take that for granted," friend Daviona Miley said. "I always taught him to be strong, though."
DeAndre Matthews was a student at SUNY Broome Community College studying criminal justice. His family said he wanted to become a social worker.