Who killed Michael Heard? Family desperate for answers in unsolved murder

ATLANTA — “This last year has been awful.”

So says the mother of an Atlanta man whose murder remains unsolved a full year after it happened.

Michael Heard was shot to death in his Kings Glen Apartment bedroom and found by his cousin. Heard’s mother, Marvaleen James, still has crying jags out of the blue and says she misses their frequent chats.

“The weight is unbearable,” says James. “There are times that I’ve actually dialed his number, and I’m like, ‘Oops. He’s not going to answer the phone.’”

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Officers responded to a call around 12:15 a.m. on August 14, 2020. Police say Heard’s cousin discovered him in his apartment in the 2100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Heard, 35, had been shot in the head.

Atlanta Police Detective Jarion Shephard says the scene of the crime only tells half the story.

“What I do know just from the crime scene is I can tell that it was definitely an acquaintance--somebody that Michael was very comfortable with,” Shephard says.

He’s hoping a tip comes into Crime Stoppers and finally cracks the case.

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James wants justice for her son’s murder.

“I’m just asking, if anybody knows anything, no matter how mediocre you may think it is, please come forward,” she says. “Please just say something. I know somebody knows something.”

Tipsters are asked to contact the Atlanta Police Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477). A $2,000 reward is offered in the case, and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Information from WSB Radio was used in this report

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