Indy parents seek answers after son murdered while home from college

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The family of a man murdered in broad daylight is begging for the community’s help in finding his killer.

“I just need a little help. Just from one person. All I need is that one person to say something. That could change this entire case,” said Lorita Hiter, the mother of Cameron Turner.

Turner, 19, was found dead in his car on Nov. 14 on North Tuxedo Street on the east side of Indianapolis.

His family knows that someone knows what happened to him. Hiter says she is living a nightmare every day.

Police found Turner’s body inside his 2007 Dodge Charger after he had been shot multiple times.

“If they do it to my child, they will do it again,” said Hiter.

His mother says she is reminded of Cameron daily by little things.

“When I go to the kitchen and I normally make him breakfast and I don’t have to make an extra plate, or when I am out grabbing food, or when I just want to send a message, or when I need the trash taken out,” said Hiter.

She says the pain is often overwhelming, knowing that the person responsible for his death is still out there.

“I need to be able to rest at night. I need to be able to let go of some of the guilt. I need to be able to know that he is able to rest because his mother did everything that she could to honor him and bring him justice,” said Hiter.

A testament to his love for his family, his final assignment at Thomas Carr Howe High School was to write a letter to a younger brother. Being the youngest in his family, Cameron wrote to his godbrother.

Dear little brother,
I look at you and I look at you and I am amazed at what god created. When I look at you I see me and I can only hope that you will be better than me. It is not that I am a bad person or that anything I have done is terribly wrong but with the way the world is going it is like there is no option but but to be better than me. At this point of your life I am trying to help you be a better person and lead you in the right direction. I feel like it is easy to take the wrong path but arduous to stay on the right path. As you get older I will help you get more involved into sports I will help you to be better at sports. But they are mainly to for you to stay on the right path. Sports encourage you to build on yourself and on a team. To never let someone fall behind is the golden dream. You and I are a team and I will never let you down. When I am gone I will pass you my crown and I will always be around. And if life ever gets too hard I will be there to be your bodyguard. I remember when you had just turned one and you had your party at Chuck-E-Cheese, you would refuse to play with anyone else or to go with anyone else unless you were with me. The bond that we have I feel is indestructible and even as you grow older and start to move your own way nothing will change. The family is full of women and that can be hard for them to raise you to be a young man. I feel that is my responsibility to help you become a young man. Yet you do have a father in your life, there is some things that I can teach you that he can’t. It’s also things that he can teach you that I can’t. That is just life. But I want you to know that you are as bright as the sun in the sky and your smile lights up the room like a big bowl of light and i am thankful to have you in my life. And I hope you have a great life.

Cameron’s letter to his godbrother

Cameron had only been home for a matter of weeks from Cincinnati Christian University after the the school was forced to close. He played football at the university on a scholarship.
Police say he was killed around 12:30 in the afternoon. His mother said he was visiting with someone he had reconnected with from college.

“It is driving me absolutely out of my mind. I could not imagine spending my life not knowing who did this to my child,” said Hiter.

His family didn’t find out that he had been killed until the next day when no one had heard from him. They called friends, hospitals and jails in hopes of finding him. His sister found out the devastating news after calling the coroner’s office.

“She says mom, they killed him. He is dead,” said Hiter.

They know nothing can bring Cameron back, but his family is determined to bring a killer to justice.

“I pray for him. I pray for his family. If he does his time and he never hurts anyone else, so be it. That would be the greatest thing that could happen,” said Derrick Johnson, Turner’s father.

“I couldn’t have that on my conscience as a mother. To have someone else’s life destroyed because I let them just be free,” said Hiter.

The family has set up a number, 317-214-0945, that anyone with information can call if they don’t feel comfortable reaching out to Crime Stoppers, 317-262-TIPS, anonymously.