Family in shock as body of aspiring social worker, 19, found burned on freight tracks in Brooklyn
DeAndre Matthews had gone missing on 7 February after he left his job in the New York neighbourhood of Crown Heights
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A 19-year-old missing man was found dead near his home in New York City.
The New York City Police Department said that DeAndre Matthews’ body was found on the freight tracks near the 2200 block of Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn earlier this month. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head, had partial burns on his body and signs of smoke inhalation.
The college student had gone missing on 7 February after he left his job at the car rental store Buggy TLC in Crown Heights. He was a student criminology student at SUNY Broome Community College and dreamed of becoming a social worker, his mother told CBS.
“I want justice for my son,” Danielle Matthews said. “My son got off of work Monday and then that was it.
No arrests have been made and no suspects have been named as of Thursday (23 February.) Matthews’ death has been ruled a homicide caused by a “gunshot wound to the head with perforation of the skull and brain,” according to the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Ms Matthews’ Jeep Cherokee, which her son had been driving, was found a few minutes away from the freight tracks where his remains were discovered.
His sister Dajanae Gillespie also told the network: “This is disgusting. Like, my brother didn’t do anything to nobody, and I can really say that.
“He wasn’t in a gang. He wasn’t a violent kid. He wasn’t a bad kid ... He stayed in the house.”
The family said that they could not think of anyone who would want to harm him.
Ms Matthews told ABC News that it was possible her son, who was gay, was the victim of a hate crime.
She also said that the Matthews may have met his killer online.
“I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m lost. That was my first child. He was my first true love. He taught me how to be a mother,” Ms Matthews told the outlet. “So, to them killers, they have no idea what they did.”