DETROIT – The mother of 27-year-old Marine veteran and home renovator Christian Epps says she’s still in disbelief after identifying her son’s body, days after he went missing from his east side Detroit home.
“He’s not Christian anymore. He’s a number,” Charyll said, just hours after she was forced to identify her son’s body in the morgue.
Detroit police say there are no official suspects yet, but Charyll told Local 4, to her, everyone is a suspect.
Known for his generosity and courage, Christian Epps was a beloved Marine, DJ and church volunteer who often cared for the homeless.
She described her son as loyal and driven, someone who lived by the Marine motto.
“He would’ve done anything for you,” she said. “He swore by the Marine model. He swore by it.”
Charyll said she last saw her son the evening of Oct. 29 when he left their home on Pennsylvania Street. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she said.
“He came home from work that evening,” she said. “Took a nap, took a shower. He said, ‘I’ll be right back.’ I said, ‘Where are you going, Chris?’ And that’s the last words I heard my son say.”
At first, she didn’t think much of it. But by Thursday afternoon, there was still no sign of Christian — and his phone was dead. She said he had a strict routine, and his text messages were not showing that they had been delivered.
“I said something ain’t right, so at 3 o’clock — let me go to the police station,” Charyll said. “Because I had called the hospitals, the morgues, the jails — I went up to the jails.
Detroit police said they later found Epps’ truck parked on Fleming Street, near I-75 and 7 Mile Road.
“It was abandoned,” a neighbor on Fleming Street told Local 4. “There wasn’t nobody in it… so we just called the cops. I saw missing flyers at the gas station and I’m like, ‘I hope this family finds him safe.’
Days later, police confirmed the Epps’ family and the community’s worst fears. Epps was found shot and killed Monday afternoon in a field not far from where his truck had been discovered on Fleming.
“It’s just been unsettling,” the neighbor said. “We can’t sleep. We can’t imagine that happening to somebody — it’s crazy. He didn’t deserve that.”
Now, Charyll Epps, who said she made a promise to her son that she would find him the day he went missing, has made a new promise: that she will find his killer.
“I won’t stop until I get justice,” she said.
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding whoever is responsible for Epps’ death.
Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department’s 7th Precinct at 313-596-5740 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and can also be submitted online here.