01x06 - A Convenient Crime

[bunniefuu]

When they showed the
story on the news,

I started screaming.

I had to literally
get up and walk away

from the television.

He was the brother I didn't have

but always wanted.

Then I didn't have
him for long enough.

It was very rare, obviously,
to get surveillance footage

of an actual m*rder.

They don't get any money.

They didn't gain anything
out of what they did.

It was just senseless.

The trail became cold, and
we were desperate for a lead.

Investigators wanted to
dust the counter for prints,

but everybody that
comes in there

could touch that counter.

The culprits are
either gonna mess up,

or somebody gets in trouble
and wants a deal to help.

narrator: It's fall
2004 in Richland County,

a sprawling region in the
center of South Carolina.

24-year-old Willard
Grandstaff is hard at work

at the Kangaroo Express
convenience store.

He worked all the time.

It seemed like he
never had a day off.

I'm Lexy Riester, and
I'm Will's cousin.

Will ran the cash
register at the Kangaroo.

He cleaned and
front-faced the shelves.

He would stock the coolers.

He would count the safe down

and make sure the
drawers were whatever

their drawers were
supposed to be.

When Will did anything,

he always did it wholeheartedly.

He was a little bit
of a workaholic.

He never complained
about the store,

and he never complained
about going in to work.

It's like the store
became a friend to him.

My mom and my dad were managers,

and they ended up training Will.

The only thing I can
ever remember is Will

at the Kangaroo.

He worked at the Kangaroo

literally his whole adult life.

Narrator: When
Willard isn't working,

he enjoys spending time
with his close-knit family.

There's about a
16-year age difference.

He was just out of high school
when I was turning three.

So I remember doing the little
sister bugging him thing.

Will and I lived with
my parents and my aunt,

Will's mom.

Will's mother is one of
the sweetest women ever.

She practically raised me.

I called her Mama Sue
for the longest time.

She's still my
Mama Sue at heart.

Narrator: At a young age, Sue
began overcoming adversity

when she was diagnosed with
a severe hearing disability.

Narrator: In April of 1980,

Sue's world gets a new addition

when she welcomes her
first child, Willard.

He was a very sweet,
a very friendly,

mostly introverted person.

He liked just the
little geeky things:

the videogames, he did
read the Harry Potter books

as they came out.

He was a huge nerd.

Narrator: In 1996,
at the age of 16,

Willard and his family
moved to South Carolina.

I am Robert Cribb.

I got to know Willard Grandstaff

at high school in
the spring of 1996.

I was coming out of
my class one day,

and I saw this boy
standing there,

and I said, "I'm going
over to speak to him.

He looks like
something's bugging him."

So I walked up to
him, and he said,

"Hi, I'm Willard Grandstaff.
Can I have lunch with you?"

That's how we
became good friends,

and we became inseparable.

Narrator: As the
friendship evolves,

Robert comes to
Willard's defense.

Just before the bell rang
for us to go into the class,

me and Will were
standing there talking,

and a bully just come up
to him and just shove him.

Well, I went to the nearest
assistant principal,

and I told him, I said,
"He needs to stop."

narrator: The
bullying continues,

so Willard finds solace
in his favorite pastime.

He loved martial arts.

Him and I would get together,

and he would show me
different martial arts moves

that he knew.

Him and I were
studying martial arts.

He'd have gone toe to toe

with anybody that threatened us.

He was very protective,

so if you mattered to him,

he would definitely
protect you at all costs.

Narrator: During
his senior year,

Willard begins working
at the Kangaroo Express.

Oh, he loved it.

I would go in there,

and help him stack
the totes up outside,

and then we'd sit in a chair
and carry on conversation

all night long.

Narrator: While working
at the gas station,

Willard dreams about
what the future holds.

When he got paid,

he would put money aside
to save for his tuition.

He wanted to go to Midlands Tech

and become a computer engineer.

Will had plans to
better himself.

Narrator: One evening
in late September,

Willard prepares for his
standard overnight shift

at the Kangaroo Express.

Narrator: Sue
drops off her son,

unaware that this is the last
time she will see him alive.

I'm Investigator Brian Metz

from the Richland
County Sheriff's Office.

Just after midnight the morning
of September the 28th, 2004,

two ladies had stopped to get
gas at the Kangaroo Station

on Garner's Ferry Road,

and they found the
clerk on the floor...

With blood around his head.

Narrator: Critical
clues buried

in Willard's final moments.

The accomplice was
laying in wait.

They knew he was somewhere.

Narrator: An inside tip
suggests a surprising motive.

To go take that next step
into m*rder is unusual.

It's starting to look
like there was some type

of beef or argument
with Willard.

Narrator: And an unlikely
witness unlocks the crime.

In this particular case,
he was that one tip

narrator: On
September 27th, 2004,

while 24-year-old
Willard Grandstaff

prepared for work, he
spoke to his best friend

in one of his final moments.

I told him, I said, "Will,
you don't need to go to work.

I got a funny feeling
something's gonna happen."

I don't like Will to
be at work after dark

because I don't trust
people out there.

He said, "Robert, I
have to go to work.

There's nobody that can
work my shift for me."

Willard did not have a
lazy bone in his body.

Well, I couldn't talk him out
of it, and he went to work.

He said, "I'll call
you at 12:30 a.m.

to let you know that I
made it to work safe."

Well, 12 midnight
come, 12:30 came.

I'm laying in the bed
waiting for the call.

My phone never rings.

Narrator: While Cribb
waited to hear from Willard,

Richland County sheriff's
officers responded

to the 911 call from
the Kangaroo Express.

I'm J. Stan Smith,

deputy chief of the Richland
County Sheriff's Department

Criminal Investigative Division.

The individuals were
obviously in a state of shock,

what they had seen when
they'd arrived at the store,

but they immediately called 911,

and we had EMS
summoned to the scene

to look for signs of life...

But the individual
had passed away.

Crime scene investigators
became involved at that point.

The sergeant on
duty briefed myself

and spoke to the two
people who had reported it.

After that, we began
the investigation.

So when we go inside, we
see the clerk on the floor

in front of the counter
and blood around his head

and what appeared to be a
g*nsh*t wound to his head.

A wound like that looks
like it's pretty close-up.

You know, we're
talking point-blank.

There could be a lot of
explanations for that.

Maybe somebody was mad at him.

Did somebody have a big beef
with him or hatred for him?

The victim had
identification on him,

and we were able to make
contact with the management

of the store relatively quickly.

So we confirmed his
identity through management.

We were able to identify

that the clerk was
Willard Grandstaff.

Willard's uncle was
manager at the store,

and he assisted us
while we were there.

It's never good to have a person

young as Willard die.

It's never easy on a family

when something
like this happens.

I went into a severe
deep depression.

I didn't want to do anything,

and all I wanted to
do was be with him.

I was six when Will died.

He was my absolute best friend.

I don't know if I truly had a
concept of death at that time,

but I knew he
wasn't coming home.

Narrator: To piece together
what happened to Willard,

investigators and
crime scene technicians

process the scene.

Some of the display racks
in front of the counter

had been knocked over.

Appeared to have been
some type of struggle.

The crime scene unit informed us

that they had found a
.380 caliber shell casing.

The shell casing,
that's very significant

in any investigation
'cause first of all,

it tells you what g*n
you're looking for,

and then ultimately if
you recovered a weapon,

you could match it ballistically

to the shell casing.

Narrator: After
bagging the casing,

investigators spot
something in the storeroom.

It's very rare to get
surveillance footage

of an actual m*rder.

A convenience store would
be a good opportunity

where you do have surveillance
video to show thefts

and things of that nature.

In this particular
instance, it was videoed,

and so the efforts
were made to collect

and secure the
surveillance video,

hoping that it would shed light

on the identities
of the perpetrators.

We could see that
Willard was doing cleanup

in the store and then had
gone to the back of the store

to stock the coolers.

He was busy doing his job.

Shortly before midnight,
two males come in,

larger male and a smaller male.

Both of 'em are dressed
in darker clothes.

Their faces are covered.

Both of 'em are
carrying handguns.

The larger male is an
African American male.

The other one was hard to tell,

not enough skin showing.

He could have been a
light-skin African American.

He could have been white.

The two suspects
separated in the store.

The accomplice was
over behind a rack.

They obviously did
not see Willard

when they first came in.

They knew he was somewhere, and
they figured he would emerge.

So the lighter-skin male
goes behind the counter

to the cash register, and
there was like, a back office.

He looked like he was looking
probably for the clerk.

The heavier-set male stands
in front of the counter,

I guess, more like lookout.

Narrator: Police
continue watching

as the masked gunmen
move through the store

before Willard suddenly emerges.

Willard seemed to
be pretty calm.

The heavyset male started
demanding money from him,

and telling him to put
his hands on the counter.

So Willard refuses
to do what he says...

And gets struck by
the heavier-set male.

The other male then comes
from behind the counter,

jumps over the counter,
and basically falls,

knocking over some things,

and then Willard is able
to get back to his feet.

They are sort of incredulous
as to his refusal.

And that's when the
sh**ter takes a look

out the front door...

And shoots Willard in the head.

The two immediately turned
to the door and walked out.

They didn't run out.
They walked out.

It was sort of an
impulse reaction,

sort of like, "I'm
gonna show you,"

type thing is the impression I
got from looking at the video.

Willard was very brave
to do what he did.

You don't know the mindset of
the person holding the g*n.

They're desperate.

They're unpredictable.

Willard was a true
innocent victim.

He was minding his own business.

He had a job.

He was trying to
contribute to society.

He didn't deserve to
have this happen to him.

Narrator: While rewatching
Willard's final moments,

Metz catches a glimpse
of something of interest

through the store window.

Shortly after they leave,

you can see an older
model pickup ride

through the front parking lot,
right past the front door.

We thought that might
not be coincidence.

Narrator: When reviewing
surveillance footage

of Willard Grandstaff's m*rder,

investigators spot a
truck leaving the scene.

Could this vehicle be the key
to identifying the K*llers?

It was believed it could
be the suspect vehicle

because of the short time
between it circling through

and the two suspects
entering the store,

so in the absence of
other information,

we had to believe that
that truck was in play.

It's almost too good to be true

that it's a coincidence
that they just happened

to ride through at that point.

Narrator: As detectives
collect information

on the pickup truck, they
notice something intriguing

at the beginning
of the encounter.

I am Rita Shuler,
retired special agent

with the South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division.

Another very important thing
that the investigators saw

was when the slender guy
jumped over the counter,

he jumped, and his palm
touched the counter.

They figured "Oh, we may
be able to dust the counter

"and get a palm print

that we could possibly
lead back to him."

And we processed the counter
area very deliberately

in hopes that would produce
a latent print or DNA

that would help solve this case.

Narrator: While awaiting
results from forensics,

something about this
crime isn't sitting right

with Investigator Metz.

The one thing that got me
was just the callousness

of the way he was shot
was totally uncalled for.

There was no reason behind this.

After they sh**t Willard,
they leave the store.

They don't get any money.

They didn't gain anything
out of what they did.

It was just senseless.

Narrator: The close-range
nature of the sh**ting

leads Metz to reconsider
an earlier theory

from the crime scene.

When you're looking
at a case like this,

you have to look at
if there was anybody

that had some type of beef
or argument with Willard.

An individual may come in and
try to steal a 12-pack of beer,

but to go take that next
step and to m*rder the clerk

is unusual.

Narrator: Investigators
question Willard's coworkers

and find out a surprising
piece of information.

When we looked at
possible suspects,

we learned from management

that Willard had thwarted
a previous attempt

to steal money out
of the register.

In this particular
instance, he was successful

in defending the store
at that point in time.

We found that video,
and we worked on that

to see if maybe that
individual came back

and wanted to retaliate.

Narrator: Investigators
compare the features

of Willard's assailants
to the footage

of the prior robbery attempt.

We take a close look at
him, look at his height,

his weight, but his physical
characteristics didn't match.

Narrator: Despite
the dead end,

investigators believe
that the close encounter

provides insight into
Willard's mindset

the night he was m*rder*d.

It told us a lot about
Willard as a person.

He was proud of his job.

It may have given him
confidence to stand up

against these other two guys.

He was not afraid.

We gotta believe that
maybe he was bolstered some

by his previous efforts
to defend the store.

Narrator: Four days
after the m*rder,

on October 2nd,

Willard Grandstaff
is laid to rest.

I was a pallbearer
at his funeral.

I walked up to his body,

and I'm screaming, "No,
stop, don't do this.

Wake up. Let's go home."

And I sat down and finally
got myself together,

and his mom said, "Robert,
you need to let him go.

"He's at rest now.

The good lord wanted him
for something besides here."

We would play pretend games.

I remember one time,
he got me a ring pop,

and it was the magic ring.

I was like a princess,
and he was the knight.

It was cute.

He was the brother I didn't
have but always wanted.

And I didn't have
him for long enough.

Narrator: In the weeks
after the m*rder,

the case is at a standstill.

We just were basically stymied

in the early part of
this investigation.

When you have a case like
this where you're basically...

your investigation has

really turned cold
kind of quickly,

you're just desperately
looking for similar crimes,

trends involving maybe a
weapon of the same caliber,

things of that nature.

Unfortunately, we have a lot

of convenience store robberies.

Anybody that we learn
about that's committing,

you know, violent armed
robberies and sh**ting people

would have been
subjects of interest

in this investigation.

We had to look at everything.

Narrator: Investigators
then get a call

with a promising tip.

Another agency gave us
a lead on some people

that were committing
some other burglaries

in the area at the time.

Shamik and Princeton.

The half brothers were
on the radar because

they had been in the South
during that time period.

Narrator: Investigators reach
out to all police agencies

in the area, gathering
as much information

about their new lead.

They definitely
had violent things

in their criminal histories.

They're buying and selling g*ns,

and they could have
possibly been in the area.

They're two people who
we're gonna have to look at.

Narrator: While investigators

in the Willard Grandstaff m*rder

wait for detailed reports
on their new suspects,

they reexamine forensic evidence

collected at the scene to
see if there is a link.

The forensic unit is pretty
much looking for everything,

and of course, the main
things is fingerprints.

Well, when you examine
the surveillance video,

obviously you're
interested in surfaces

that may have been touched.

DNA is so sophisticated now

that skin cell tissue can leave

what we call touch DNA.

But it's very hard when it's
a public store like this.

Everybody that comes in there
could touch that counter.

You basically get
a mixture of DNA

that's unidentifiable
exclusively to one person,

and it's virtually
impossible to isolate it.

I'm John Meadors,

and I was in charge
of the prosecution

in the m*rder of
Willard Grandstaff.

Unfortunately, there
weren't forensics.

There wasn't DNA.

There weren't fingerprints.

There may have been
one partial palm print,

but was not something that
law enforcement could use.

Narrator: With no viable
forensic evidence,

detectives reach back
out to the agency

that provided the tip.

At that point, we'd
deal with investigators.

We would have them
take full body pictures

showing tattoos or anything,

and then start doing
a comparison there

to see if things match up.

Narrator: Investigators'
search for the suspects

takes a turn when they
receive a new update.

We find out that the same
time as Willard was k*lled,

the half brothers were
incarcerated in another state.

Both of them were caught
up north somewhere.

At that point, they
were eliminated

because we knew they
were committing crimes

at other places at the time
that this m*rder occurred.

The trail became cold, and
we were desperate for a lead.

We were at a dead end.

Narrator: Months after
Willard's m*rder,

the investigation
is at a standstill,

and his family is still on edge.

After Will was m*rder*d,

I know that my parents
made extra sure

to lock the doors,
and like, double check

before they ever went
to go do anything.

I think they were worried.

My mom worked at the store.

I wanted my mom to come home.

I didn't want her to get hurt.

I worried a lot that
someone else was gonna die.

I try not to think
about that store ever.

Narrator: With
little else to go on,

investigators make a bold move.

The Sheriff's Department
decides to air this footage

on the news, the local
news channels in Columbia,

in hopes that someone
may identify the suspects

or even identify this truck.

When you release
surveillance video

or you make an
appeal to the public,

you'll take information from
whatever source it comes.

Narrator: But not everyone
is excited about the release

of the surveillance video.

I remember they
brought the video over,

but they wouldn't let me watch
it because I was a child.

So to this day, I've still
never seen the video.

When they showed the
story on the news,

I started screaming.

I had to literally
get up and walk away

from the television.

I started crying, missing him.

I wish he was still here.

Days became weeks,
weeks became months.

During that time, law
enforcement was working on it.

They were getting leads.
They were running down leads.

They were still showing
the video periodically,

keeping it out in the public.

But in cases like this where
you don't have a witness

what usually happens is
that somebody out there,

the culprits are either
gonna talk and mess up,

or somebody gets in trouble
and wants a deal to help.

Narrator: In March 2006,
their luck begins to change.

One of our narcotics
agents made an arrest

of an individual
named Chris Ellis

who had several priors
involving narcotics violations

and this is gonna be one

that could create some
serious problems for him

based on his prior convictions.

This individual reached
out to the narcotics agent

who was involved in his case,

indicated to him he had
significant knowledge

about this m*rder.

That was passed on
to my lead detective

and myself.

Narrator: Investigators
agree to sit down with Ellis

who is currently incarcerated
at the county jail.

They begin by asking
about his whereabouts

around the time of the m*rder.

Chris Ellis tells us that
he's at home the next morning,

and that the sh**ter
comes back to the house

and gives him the g*n

and asks him to get
rid of the g*n for him

and describes to him
what had gone on,

which matched up
with what had gone on

at the Kangaroo with Willard.

He had specific details about
the actual crime itself.

He knew the actual caliber
of the weapon involved,

which is very significant.

Narrator: There's
one way to find out

if Chris Ellis is
telling the truth.

After Chris' initial statement,

we polygraphed Chris.

A cold case may go
back on the shelf,

but there's always a possibility

of pulling it back off when
something new comes in.

In this particular case,
Chris was that one tip

that possibly
changes everything.

Narrator: Investigators in the
Willard Grandstaff m*rder case

are trying to determine
if a prison informant

named Chris Ellis is lying.

It's very commonplace
for individuals

who are incarcerated to
try to gain some advantage

by helping solve crime.

But Chris Ellis
failed the polygraph.

And what he was
lying to us about was

who was the
heavier-set accomplice.

Well, after he
failed the polygraph,

he came clean about
the involvement

of his cousin, Lamont Ellis.

Narrator: According to Chris,
his cousin was the accomplice

to the sh**ter.

Chris Ellis did not want
to implicate his cousin,

Lamont Ellis.

That was the most
significant mistruth

that he had initially,

but once we got through that,

we were able to verify
what he was telling us.

What helped make him
credible in my mind

was that he was telling
on a family member,

which is not easy to do.

Narrator: Investigators
push for the identity

of the k*ller.

Jaime Marrero is who
Chris Ellis identified

as the sh**ter.

When we started checking
in Jaime Marrero,

we realized he had
a violent history.

He had been involved
in another sh**ting,

a homicide several years back
where he was actually shot.

Things were falling into place

like none of the
other leads had.

Narrator:
Investigators compare

Jaime Marrero and Lamont
Ellis to the masked gunmen

in the surveillance video.

The video was able to show
their body height, structure,

and type, and it did match.

It was a key piece of
evidence, without question.

Jaime matches up
to the smaller guy,

and Lamont definitely matches
up with the larger male.

The two individuals match
the physical description

of the two suspects to a T.

Narrator:
Investigators ask Ellis

about the pickup truck
seen in the video.

We find out from Chris

that the truck had nothing
to do with the case.

We never were able to
identify who was in the truck,

but they were in one
of their relatives' car

and had been driving
it that night.

Narrator: Now to build a case
against Marrero and Ellis.

Investigators zero in on a
piece of potential evidence.

According to Chris Ellis,

Jaime Marrero came to his house,

asked him to get rid of the g*n.

Chris told me that he had
thrown the g*n in a pond

in the lower part of the
county in a rural area.

He had some connection
to that pond

because of a relative
living close by.

I went to the pond
with law enforcement

and Richland County divers.

I learned ponds are some
of the toughest things

to dive for 'cause
you can't see.

We searched that pond for days

but were not able to recover it.

Narrator: Desperate
for more evidence,

investigators attempt to
leverage their best asset.

When you have a crime like this,

with a lack of forensic
evidence or ballistics,

and you've got somebody
that's giving you a tip

that is acquainted
with the suspects,

a pretext phone call is
an investigative technique

that is often used.

It's a call that we record,

and we attempt to get either
a confession over the phone

or acknowledgement of the crime.

We set up a patch call where
Chris called Jaime Marrero

to see if Jaime's gonna
say anything incriminating.

Cristopher was able to
get Jaime on the phone,

and Jaime basically said,
"Why are you doing this?

Why are you talking to me
about this on the telephone?"

If you called me and
asked me about a homicide

and was implicating
me in saying that,

tell me about what happened,

I'd be telling you, "I
don't know, I wasn't there."

And that's not what
Jaime was saying.

Which in our view, was
basically an acknowledgement,

which was very significant.

The content of the conversation

corroborated Chris'
information immediately,

and that was significant
to Chris' credibility.

Narrator: Then the attention
shifts to a different member

of the Ellis family.

Chris' girlfriend at the time

was cooperative in
the investigation,

and she had some degree
of influence on Lamont.

Of course, Lamont finds
out from the others

that he's being given up.

Communication is
made with Lamont

who then calls into the
Sheriff's Department

and offers to come into
the Sheriff's Department.

Narrator: Lamont Ellis sits
down with investigators

to share insight into exactly
how and why Willard died.

That night, they had
gone out to a pool hall

that was right
behind the Kangaroo.

When they left there,
Jaime was talking

about doing the robbery.

Narrator: But
according to Lamont,

when Willard resisted,

Marrero lost his cool.

Lamont was pretty much upset
that Jaime had shot the guy,

said that was not necessary.

After we got Lamont
Ellis' statement,

and he fully corroborated
Christopher's tip,

that was enough for us
to secure arrest warrants

for Jaime Marrero.

Narrator: Willard's
family is pleased

with investigators' progress,

but they find some of the
case details shocking.

The accomplice that
was arrested, Lamont,

my mom knew his mom and had
kind of seen him grow up,

so everyone was kind
of surprised to hear

that Lamont was involved.

Narrator: In a
strange coincidence,

Robert Cribb believes
the events of August 4th

were not Willard and
Lamont's first encounter.

Lamont was in Will's class.

He pushed Will outside,

and I said, "No,
Lamont, you need to stop

and leave him alone."

When they told me they
had caught the K*llers,

I felt relieved.

I felt Will got the
peace he deserved.

Narrator: Lamont Ellis
is charged with as*ault

and robbery.

Jaime Marrero is
charged with the m*rder

of Willard Grandstaff.

His trial is set
for September 2008.

This was a m*rder. This
was a cold-blooded m*rder,

and he needed to be
convicted of that.

Narrator: On
September 22nd, 2008,

the trial for the m*rder of
Willard Grandstaff begins.

But there's a problem.

I been doing this a long time,

and I love what I do.

I love doing this job,

but this case was
not an easy case.

There just was not any evidence,

no forensics, no DNA.

It was a tough case for
law enforcement to crack,

no question about it.

Narrator: Without something
directly linking him

to the m*rder,

prosecutors fear
Marrero will walk.

We don't stop the investigations

when the arrest takes place.

We obviously wanted to build
as strong a case as possible.

One of the other significant
parts of the investigation

post-arrests were some
jailhouse phone calls.

One of those calls,
Mr. Jaime Marrero was talking

to his girlfriend, and
as a result of that,

law enforcement went
and talked to her.

She said that he had
confessed to her.

Law enforcement obviously
was excited at that news.

Narrator: Just days
into the trial,

the prosecution's new star
witness takes the stand.

You know, some folks
are just credible.

They just reek with credibility,

and her testimony was powerful,

and I can visually remember
looking at Marrero,

and he was actually
slipping down in his seat

as she was testifying.

And he felt it, and I
know the jury felt it.

It was just strong,
credible evidence.

I'm so glad she came forward.

It was a good circumstantial
evidence case.

With her testimony, it really
took it up a notch, too.

After her testimony,

Jaime's lawyer asked
the judge for a break.

Jaime wanted to speak
to family members,

but after a period of time,

he made what appeared to be
a very emotional decision

to plead guilty to m*rder
and attempted armed robbery.

Narrator: Lamont Ellis is
sentenced to five years

for conspiracy and
ten years for as*ault.

Jaime Marrero is sentenced
to 38 years in prison

for the m*rder of
Willard Grandstaff.

A plea to m*rder is
a little bit unusual

because m*rder carries
a minimum of 30,

in South Carolina, to life.

It's what we call
"pine box life."

So securing a m*rder conviction,

a non-parolable offense,

and then getting 38 years...
We felt pretty good about that.

That video, it'll
always be with you.

You can never forget it.

I actually ride by
the Kangaroo every day

going to my job
and look over there

and think about
this case every day.

Narrator: Willard's family
remember the young man

who in his final
moments, gave his life

to protect the
place that he loved.

Still to this day, gets to me...

Knowing that I
miss him every day

and wish he was still
here to talk to me.

I walk up to his
grave and I'll say,

"Hey, Will, I miss you.

"I wish you were still here so
we could go hang out somewhere,

go get something to eat
somewhere, or something."

And I can literally feel
like he's putting his arm

around me, telling me,
"Hey, buddy, how are you?

I'm right here with you."

And then within two
seconds, it's gone.

I guess his way of telling
me, "Hey, I'm here.

"I'm glad to see you.

I'm doing okay."

And I'll believe that
till my dying day.

If I could do anything,
I'd want to give him a hug.

I miss his hugs. I
still remember his hugs.

He gave bear hugs, and they
were just the best hugs.

He's the person you would have
wanted to be friends with.

I like how my aunt put
it on his headstone.

"He was a gentle soul."

That's what he was...
Big, friendly giant.