Three months later, case of Goldsboro 15-year-old killed at pool party remains unsolved

More than three months after 15-year-old Joyonna Pearsall was shot to death at a pool party in Goldsboro, police are still looking for the suspect.

Posted 9:52 p.m. Aug 1 — Updated 10:22 p.m. Aug 1

Destinee Patterson

, WRAL reporter

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — More than three months after 15-year-old Joyonna Pearsall was shot to death at a pool party in Goldsboro, police are still looking for the suspect.

Goldsboro police said they have no new developments, leads or suspects in Pearsall’s homicide case.

Her aunt, Maria Bell, said it’s time for people in the community to speak up if they have information.

“We’re hoping, not just for Joyonna, but for all other parents who have lost a child, that somebody would come forth soon,” Bell said.

Joyonna was one of six teens shot at a pool party in April. She was the only person killed. Others at the party reported hearing dozens of rounds of gunfire and seeing more than 100 people running to safety.

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Because many of the people attending the event were minors, Bell said she thinks that’s adding complications to the case. According to data from the Goldsboro Police Department, there are four total unsolved homicide cases between 2022 and 2023.

“Justice to me is to see somebody come forth and says, ‘I didn’t mean to do it, but here I am,” Bell said.

Tuesday, Bell and other family members participated in Goldsboro’s National Night Out event at Herman Park. They offered food to people in the community free of charge through their You Need Help Outreach Ministry. Pearsall was known for her volunteerism in the community.