Can you help solve a cold case? Durham police share key clue with community

Witnesses said they heard 9 to 10 gunshots before the crash.

Durham police investigators and Sowell’s family are trying to put the case back in the spotlight – and make sure Sowell is not forgotten.

Investigators and family believe the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity.

"I feel that the victim in this case was just an innocent party that got involved with something that he probably didn’t even mean to be involved in," says Lt. Stephen Vaughan of the criminal investigations division.

However, police have one major clue they hope will spark new leads: They know what kind of car the shooter was firing from.

"The biggest thing right now, we just want to put out there: We do know it was a green, older model four-door sedan," says Vaughan.

Police don't believe Sowell was involved in any gang activity. The shooting also happened during the daytime with a lot of people around to witness the crime.

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Vaughan emphasizes that if anyone has any clues – even something they think is small – they should come forward.

"Sometimes even just getting a starting point in the investigation is key," he says. "Because we can take that information and look at other avenues to prove that information."

He says even an anonymous tip could be a big help.

"There’s a lot of times where someone knows something, and if they would come forward it could lead to arrest," he says.

Sowell was a full-time prep school student who loved football and family, and he had two scholarship offers to play football in college.

"All he loved was football and video games and taking care of his little sister," says his mother Tierney Sowell. "He would've given you the shirt off his back."

She says he planned for a lifetime of helping others, intending to study sports medicine and physical therapy – a passion for healing that's shared by his mother, who works as a nurse.

"I’m a nurse. I’m a healthcare worker. My priority was trying to save my son – and looking at him and already knowing that there was nothing I could do was very difficult," she says.

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His family is particularly crushed because Sowell died just before Thanksgiving – his favorite holiday. Instead of eating Thanksgiving dinner with his family, they found themselves with just grief, loss and no answers.

"All he was doing was taking his cousin home," she says.

She pleads for answers, saying, "Somebody has to know something."

"Each day is hard. but we have to find something to hold onto to keep moving forward," he says.

He still has hope his son's case will be solved.

"I know we live by a creed sometimes of not snitching, not telling on somebody you know," he says. "But you have other people out there that need to know, that want to know what happened to their loved ones. Mine as well as others."

Sowell was born and raised in Durham with a big family. They are hoping to find out what happened to their loved one – to uncover who kept him from being home with them that Thanksgiving – and all future family gatherings.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lt. S.W. Vaughan at 919-560-4440 Ext. 29334 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.