Big Reward Offered In Murder Case From 2009

DENVER (CBS4)- There is a $10,000 reward and new attention in an unsolved murder case in Denver dating back three years.

Ethiopian immigrant Keyru Lolo was gunned down in the court yard of an apartment complex in East Denver.

"We just want to know who killed him and why," said Keyru's sister-in-law Nanise Wako. "Please help us, if anyone knows anything about this."

Lolo's family is working with police in a new effort to catch his killer. There is a billboard just a few blocks from the murder scene advertising the reward and asking, "Who Killed Keyru Lolo?"

Friends and family hope the billboard will inspire new tips even if the tipsters want to remain anonymous.

Lolo was gunned down at the Garden Court Apartments in October 2009. He received a phone call, left his cousin's apartment and was shot multiple times crossing the courtyard.

"I used to live in this apartment and he came to visit me," said family member Jemal Gisho.

"We believe he was walking down this sidewalk right here, we believe the gunman was coming from this area and shot Keyru as he was walking down these stairs," said Denver Police Homicide Detective Mark Crider.

Crider has worked the case for three years with no arrests and no suspects.

"Why would you want to kill Keyru Lolo?" asked Crider. "That's the question that's bothered me from day one. He's not into drugs not into gangs. I have not discovered an enemy on earth that Keyru had."

In the days after the murder detectives questioned every resident at the apartment complex. No one came forward with any useful information about what may have happened despite all the balconies that over look the court yard.

"I guess I'm asking one of these witnesses to have the courage to come forward," said Crider. "There is a $10,000 reward."

To mark the anniversary of the shooting and honor Lolo, members of Denver's Ethiopian community will also canvass the area, handing out flyers just as they did three years ago.

"This one is special because of just who Keyru Lolo was," said Crider.