Man's family makes emotional plea after brutal shooting death

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County police are asking for the public's help to catch a killer who they say shot a man several times late last month.

Police say a woman who worked at a Stone Mountain shopping center discovered 53-year-old Calvin Gholston's body shot several times in a breezeway. His family told Channel 2’s Amy Napier Viteri Gholston suffered from schizophrenia, but they can't think of anyone who would want to hurt him.

“Tell us something about it. We need closure,” pleaded Gholston’s brother Cedric.

Cedric Gholston fought to hold back tears as he made a plea for information about who shot and killed his brother.

“He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what I can describe as a brutal homicide,” said Detective Matthew McLendon with DeKalb County police.

DeKalb police say Gholston was shot to death on Sept. 27, found in a breezeway at the Spring Mill Village shopping center on Memorial Drive.

“It hurt me to my heart because I was his caretaker. My brother was schizophrenic,” said Cedric Gholston.

Cedric Gholston said his brother lived with him, but had a long history of mental illness and would occasionally leave home for days at a time.

“Somebody out there saw them do this to my brother and I want him caught,” said Gholston’s oldest sister Pat Green.

Green says no one had a reason to harm her brother, whom everyone knew by the nickname "Butterball."

“This punk, cowardly person took his life for no reason at all,” said Green.

McLendon says Gholston had no valuables on him.

“Everybody I’ve spoken with always said he would give whatever he had to anybody,” said McLendon

Cedric is a deacon at Fertile Ground Deliverance Center just down the street. He says the church does outreach in this community and he wonders if he's ever been face to face with the person who took his brother's life.

“It bothers me, it hurts me that this person is still out here,” said Gholston.

Investigators say there are no working cameras at the mostly empty shopping center so they are counting on new information from the public. The family says they are working to put together a reward for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

WSBTV