BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) -
A Birmingham family is still searching for answers one year after their loved one was brutally murdered.
Darius Frazier was shot to death near the intersection of 1st Avenue North and 52nd Street the night of September 20, 2011. It's a night Frazier's niece will never forget. Danyal Pettaway says she talked to her uncle around 9:15 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, she got another phone call saying he was dead.
Those memories still haunt the family.
"I love my boy. I miss him so much," said Virginia Frazier, Darius' grandmother.
Birmingham Police say Darius was in a car with someone who shot him and dumped his body on the side of the road. Police have never arrested anyone and the family is desperate for justice.
"I have faith in God and I believe he sees all, hears all, knows all so I know this person is walking around with a conscience and it's eating him up, it's killing him," said Pettaway.
Even though Darius was a man, he lived and dressed as a woman – calling himself Gabby.
Gabby's family says he was dealing with identity issues and had resorted to prostitution.
"He lived his life in a way in lot of people's eyes isn't how you should live, but that was no reason for someone to put him in a car and to shoot him in the head and dump him in the street as if he were a dog," Pettaway said.
Pettaway believes someone has information about the crime and they're not coming forward because they're scared of retaliation or that they'll get in trouble.
"No one is willing to give info and all I can say is if this was your loved one, wouldn't you want justice?" asked Pettaway, "It's not just the Birmingham Police Department that has to help, the community has to come together and we have to put this to rest."
RELATED: Family fears loved one was killed for being transgender
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The victim of the shooting, Darius Frazier, was a man but family members say he lived and dressed as a woman. Source: WBRC video
Police say Darius Frazier, shown above, was killed around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 20, 2011. Source: WBRC video
Family members say Darius Frazier, shown here dressed as a woman, called himself "Gabby." Source: WBRC video
Birmingham police believe Frazier was shot at close range in a car, then his body was dumped on the side of the road near the intersection of 1st Avenue North and 52nd Street.
