BROOKLYN, NY — On February 14, 2005, 19-year-old Rashawn Brazell failed to show up for a Valentine’s Day lunch date with his mother. Three days later, on February 17, subway workers found a bloody plastic bag filled with his body parts in a tunnel near the “A” train platform at Nostrand Avenue station.
More body parts were discovered at a Greenpoint recycling plant, but Rashawn’s head was never recovered.
Related: NYC Subway Rider Who Assaulted Transwoman Isn’t Saying Sorry Anytime Soon
The horrifying unsolved murder has left a devastated family still searching for answers, and wondering if the psycho who killed Rashawn is still out there, and maybe still killing.
According to his mother, Desire Brazell, who was working at homeless shelter in Washington Heights the day he vanished, Rashawn was supposed to get his taxes done that Monday morning. He was last seen leaving his family’s Gates Avenue apartment around 7:30 A.M.
According to some reports, a man buzzed his apartment and Rashawn went down to meet him. He was walking toward the Gates Avenue station, but it is not clear if he ever boarded the train.
Related: Former Cop Arrested For Masturbating On NYC Subway, Threatening Witness With A Gun
“I didn’t get to look on him again,” Desire Brazell said. “No one deserves to end up being thrown away, like they’re just trash.”
Rashawn’s friends and family described him as a bright, loving, and funny young man who loved fashion and designed his own clothes. He had a bright future, and his whole life ahead of him.
Through the years, rumors have continued to swirl around the case, including one that homicide detectives think someone who worked in or around the New York City transit system was involved.
“I believe that somebody who had knowledge of the subway system had to be involved in this,” said Brooklyn North Homicide detective, Richard Amato. “We checked all the rooms in the subway, in between stations, and we never found the original crime scene.”
Another clue that detectives focused on was a black “Rooster” tool bag found near the crime scene that contained drill bits and Rashawn’s blood.
Investigators stated that the bag could be purchased at Lowe’s but was also given to some New York City transit authority workers in a test trial.
Rashawn was gay, and following the murder, some media stories focused on his sexuality as a possible motive. But his family and friends are not convinced that a jilted lover was involved or that his sexuality was a factor.
Family members revealed that shortly before his death Rashawn talked about breaking away from some people in his life and making changes. But he wasn’t specific, and kept his social life compartmentalized so detectives following this lead have been frustrated in finding answers.
While making his documentary called Rashawn’s Desire: The Untold Story of Rashawn Brazell, filmmaker Terik King told PIX11 that he believed that Rashawn’s good nature may have given the teen “a blind spot when it came to how evil people could be.”
King also said that the man who runs a scholarship fund in Rashawn’s name has gotten cryptic and taunting messages every year that sound as if they could have been from the alleged killer. “The tone of it was, ‘He wasn’t an angel, this happened, I’m sorry, I paid someone to do it,” King told PIX11.
Related: Police: Sex Offender Threw Woman’s Dismembered Remains In Garbage
Detectives continue to investigate the case, and it has been featured on America’s Most Wanted.
Rashawn’s mother continues to keep his memory alive and hopes that one day she will learn what really happened to her son.
The NYPD Crime Stoppers Unit is offering a $22,000 reward for anyone who can offer information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the murder of Rashawn Brazell.
Read more:
Main photo: Rashawn Brazell [Rashawn’s Desire/Facebook]
The post Unsolved: The Psycho Who Killed And Dismembered Rashawn Brazell Is Still Out There appeared first on CrimeFeed.