Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 8-7-20

Feature
16 Years Later:
Death Of Young Father Still An Unsolved Murder
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Many things have taken place in the last 16 years throughout the nation as well as locally. Some have been positive such as the election of Barack Obama, the first African American president. Others, such as the number of unsolved murders in Tampa and Hillsborough County, leaves families wait- ing on answers.
One such unsolved death is that of Warren Donnell Mitchell, Sr. Mitchell died after being shot near the intersection of MacDill and Columbus Drive. After being shot, the wounded man drove a short distance before
flagging down a Tampa Po- lice officer for help.
Mitchell was trans- ported to Tampa General Hospital, where he later died. The fatal shooting took place shortly after 9 p.m., on August 1, 2004,
Mitchell was 25-year- old and was the father of a 4- year-old son, Warren Donnell Mitchell, Jr.
Today, he is an adult, and like the rest of the family, still has no answers as to who killed his father or why.
“It has been 16 years, that’s too long. Someone knows what happened to my son. I just want justice for my son, and for my entire fam- ily,” his mother,” Ms. Wanda Conaway said.
WARREN DONNELL MITCHELL, SR. 1/9/1979 --- 8/1/2004
The son of Ms. Conaway and Frederick “Bubba” Mitchell, the young man attended the public schools of Hillsbor- ough County. He earned his
G.E.D. He was employed at Tampa Roofing at the time of his death.
Ms. Conaway keeps his memory alive. In addition to recognizing his birthday in January, she also honors his death.
She credits a program sponsored by Elliott and Darla Saunders with help- ing her get through her tragedy. She said the group travels to Tallahassee each year to participate in Crime Survivors For Safety and Justice Conference.
Ms. Conaway remem- bers the young man who loved spending time with his family, traveling to different places, and being helpful to others.
“Every year since my baby has been gone I’ve hoped that someone will say something. It’s time, its just been too long. We are asking anyone with information to please come forward,” she said.
Eddy Durkin,
spokesman for the Tampa Police Department said, “The Tampa Police Department is committed to finding justice for the family of Warren Mitchell.
“Detectives ask anyone who may have information that could move this case for- ward to contact Crime Stop- pers of Tampa Bay at 800.873.TIPS, or online at www.crimestopperstb.com.”
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