The family of a 19-year-old Black gay man who was found dead on train tracks in Brooklyn, New York, this month are demanding answers, and justice, in his death.
The body of Deandre Matthews was found Feb. 7 around 4 p.m. on freight train tracks near the 2200 block of Nostrand Avenue, the New York City Police Department said.
Officers who arrived to the scene said Matthews was unresponsive, with “significant burn wounds” throughout his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said he died of “gunshot wounds of the head with perforation of the skull and brain.” His death was ruled a homicide.
No arrests have been made in the case, which remains under investigation.
Danielle Matthews described her son as a “calm, silly, friendly person” who was studying criminal justice at SUNY Broome Community College in Binghamton. He liked to go by the nicknames “Dre” and “Prince.”
“He was just a beautiful soul. He was a great kid. Never had police contact. First in my family to go to college. He was amazing,” she said.
Danielle Matthews said she last heard from her son Feb. 6, when he asked to use her car. She didn’t know where he was headed that night, and police said he was last seen leaving his home at 5:45 p.m.
About 2:30 a.m. Feb. 7, Danielle Matthews said her mother called her asking where her car was because it wasn’t in front of the house.
“That was the worst phone call I got in my life. I went to my window, my car was not there. I began to call my son. My son did not answer his phone,” she said.
“I then located my car about 3:30 a.m. with a tracking system on my car because I have a new car. I located my car, I called the police. They came. My car was burnt and from there I knew my son was gone,” she added.
The mother said the back seat of her car was burned, with no sign of Deandre Matthews.
“My son was missing. A couple of hours later Feb. 7, that evening, is when they located my son’s…
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