Hampton family prays for murder arrest

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - Hampton Police are asking for your help in solving a decade-old murder case. They are hoping to find the person who killed Shawn Ray.

"I remember when Shawn called me and told me he was going to the club with James Taylor," Ray's mother Chris Suiter said.

In the late 1990s the Nile Restaurant was a hot spot on the Peninsula.

"It was the first time they ever went there and the last time they ever went there," Suiter added.

Shawn Ray and James "Terry" Taylor were childhood friends. They did everything together, so much so, Suiter considered him a member of the family.

"He used to be with my sons all the time," Suiter said. "I knew him since he was younger."

That cold night on the town, in 1998 ended this life-long friendship.

Police were called to Nile after a shooting. We're told they found Taylor shot on the dance floor. He died a short time later. That was 13 years ago, but for Suiter it was like yesterday. She remembers the look on Shawn's face.

"When he came home the next day he had blood all over this clothes," Suiter added. "He was in shock."

The club was dark, but full of people. Somebody on the dance floor had to see something. Police interviewed everyone there at the time, but no one would tell police anything. No one, except Shawn Ray.

"I told him I didn't want him to do it, because I didn't want anything to happen to him," Suiter said. "I cared about Terry, but I didn't want anything to happen to my son. He felt that he had to do this."

Shawn's family thought it was better for his safety if he stayed quiet, but it wasn't Shawn's style.

"He did it from his heart, because he said James Taylor would have done it for him," Suiter added.

With Ray's help, police developed a suspect, a suspect with a long rap sheet which included a murder charge in 1995 and maiming. Charges prosecutors say he beat, because no one was brave enough to testify. His name is Terry Moore. Shawn Ray knew about all those charges. He knew Moore was dangerous when he told police what he saw that night at the Nile.

"He said they were on the dance floor and he said he heard what sounded like balloons popping," Suiter recalled. "He said then he saw his friend James Taylor fall forward and Terry Moore was standing behind him."

Family hoped Ray's testimony in Taylor's murder would lock up Moore for good.

"He did testify," Suiter said.

Ray testified in a preliminary trial. He told the court he thought he saw Moore holding a gun, before Moore ran out the door. A judge ruled there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.

"I didn't think he thought anything would happen to him, but it did," Suiter added.

Two weeks before Moore's trial, Hampton Police rushed out to the Getty Mart on Mercury Boulevard. A man out front of the store was shot in the head. It was Shawn Ray.

"It does appear that he was on the phone talking with somebody facing the other direction when the suspect came up behind him," said Hampton Detective Steve Rodey.

"It was terrible," Suiter added. "It was the worst feeling in the world."

She had just buried one young man who she considered a son and now Suiter was forced to bury her own. The nightmare from that night on the dance floor was far from over.

"The doctor came in and said that my son didn't make it," Suiter said.

As police searched for Ray's killer, justice for James Taylor was hanging in the balance. Even without the star witness, Moore's trial began as scheduled.

"Shawn was really the only witness," Suiter added.

The Commonwealth tried to show how Moore was in the club that night. Prosecutors said Taylor was a casualty of doing business. They believed his dad owed money to Moore. And since the star witness was no longer able to speak for himself, prosecutors were forced to use Ray's transcribed testimony from the preliminary hearing. The jury came back: Moore not guilty.

"I believe they would have found him guilty if my son was there," Suiter said.

And yet 13 years later, no one's ever been convicted for Taylor's death. The same can be said for his friend Shawn Ray.

"When he passed away I wish I could have told him that I loved him and I didn't get that chance," Suiter added.

Police say the leads have run cold, but they believe they know who pulled the trigger; a familiar face. At the time of Ray's death Terry Moore was out on bond awaiting his day in court.

"We believe it was some type of set up," Rodey added. "Our suspect had a direct link to it or was assisted by somebody else."

Police say they just need to connect the dots. What they need is for someone to do what Shawn once did for a friend; the same sense of bravery his family believes cost Shawn his life.

"It's a pain that will never go away," Suiter added. "People say it gets better in time, but until I have closure and to know that the person that took my son's life will pay for what he did, I don't feel my son can rest and I know I can't."

Police have not charged Terry Moore with Ray's murder. Moore is serving life without parole