CMPD Holds Ceremony For Nation Day Of Remembrance

CHARLOTTE – Samuel Stitt was a vivacious young man.

  “Sam was hard working, Sam was lovable, Sam was compassionate.”

He was ambitious and a proud father of a little boy, when he was taken at just 23 in August of 2019 to gun violence. His mother Sylvia Smith remembers details about him often.

 “One of the things I really really miss about Sam are his hands. Just holding his hand.  He had really long cool fingers, so I miss that physical part, just holding his hand,” said Sylvia. 

 Monday evening, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department remembered Samuel, along with all other murder victims in Mecklenburg county for National Day of Remembrance.

Lt. Bryan Crum works for the Violent Crime Division, and says these cases are more than just statistics. 

“It’s really easy to get lost in the headlines or the social media or the statistics of what number homicide this is, but it’s important to remember that these are real folks who have real stories.”

Sylvia shared her real story through a poem she wrote for the second hand victims. 

While 80% of murder cases are solved in Charlotte, detectives won’t be happy until that number is at 100.

“One open case is too much for us,” said Lt. Crum. “We’d love 100% clearance, that’s why it’s so important that the  community steps up and helps us with that.”

As for Sylvia and her husband Michael, they work to live for they’re son and his memory every day.

“I think it’s important for people who have experienced certain things to be there for people who are freshly experiencing those things and get through that healing process,” said Michael.