GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — All that's left of a Jackson County star high school football player is a wooden urn engraved with a carving of his photo containing his ashes and a lock of his blonde hair.
The family of Elijah DeWitt spoke shortly Monday before Chandler Richardson and Kemare Bryam, the two men who pleaded guilty, were sentenced to life in prison. Family members talked about how the tragedy had impacted their lives before the sentenced was given.
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“This is what I have physically that should not be," Dawn DeWitt said while holding up her son's urn and his lock of hair.
Elijah was shot and killed in the parking lot of Sugarloaf Mills Mall outside the Dave & Buster's on the night of Oct. 5, 2022.
His mother, Dawn, remembers the moment she got the call and saw her son's body at the scene.
"The child I love with all of my soul. He is dead, and I stood there with blue lights shining in my eyes watching my kid dead shot in the heart dead so bad that I could not hold his hand," she said. "As they drove him away, the fire department began to clean the scene and wash the ground. Elijah’s blood was washed into a sewer."
The pain is unbearable for her, causing her heart to break each time she remembers her son is not with her.
"Each day, I gasp for air and remember he is not here, and he is a murder victim, and he is not coming home," his mother added.
DeWitt's mother, Dawn, previously said while her son was a giant on the football field at Jefferson High School, he was the most down-to-earth guy with dreams to play college football – a dream cut short by one senseless act.
It seemed like nothing could stand in Elijah's way – his mother said he already had a couple offers and was set to visit the University of Georgia.
"He loved football, he was ready and willing to do whatever it takes to go D1, that was his ultimate goal," Dawn said. "He was very tender and he loved people. Elijah was the kindest soul."
Elijah's grandmother's statement highlighted her grandson's character and generosity.
"He was generous, and without anyone in need, he had a sense of humor. He dreamed big and was striving to accomplish his dream. He was ours, and we missed him. We love him today because the world loved," she said. "Our love doesn't stop just because his body isn't here."
Family members of one of the men who pleaded guilty, Richardson, also spoke to the judge.
My son's life has been significantly impacted to such a degree that he will spend a lifetime of incarceration. That's not the same kind of pain the DeWitt family feels because they won't have visitations and won't be able to see him again," Richardson's father said. "It pains me that he was involved and that another life was taken a precious life."
Richardson's brother, who had not seen him in five years, also spoke, giving condolences to the family.
A third suspect, Kpadeh Jones, did not appear in court. It's unclear if he was offered a plea deal or what lies ahead in his case.