'Something so personal': Records reveal Atlanta influencer's cause of death
In October, Deundray Cottrell would have turned 32 years old.
So, on his birthday, his sister Angelica and his family held a celebration in his honor.
鈥淓verybody just let us have the time of our life. And it was, it was perfect. It was perfect,鈥� Angelica Cottrell said.
Just three months earlier, Cottrell disappeared from a Fourth of July party at his sister's home.
Days later, he was found murdered in an abandoned shed a few blocks away.
His murder is one of 136 in Birmingham this year.
About 95 percent of the victims were killed by gunfire.
鈥淎 lot of senseless gun violence. And this wasn't that,鈥� Cottrell said.
While putting together a homicide database, we uncovered Cottrell was actually killed by asphyxiation.
That means he was suffocated or strangled.
He was one of only eight people not killed by gunfire in the city this year.
鈥淚t could have easily been that type of killing, but it wasn't. It was something so personal,鈥� Cottrell said.
So far this year, Birmingham homicide detectives have cleared 63 cases.
Wednesday morning, they announced the reckless manslaughter arrest of Brandon Davis.
He's accused of killing Douglas Youngblood in May.
However, more than half of the Birmingham murders, like Deundray Cottrell's, remain unsolved.
鈥淚t wouldn't be easier, but it would definitely bring us a little more peace to know that whoever is responsible will be held accountable,鈥� Cottrell said.
Police originally named Cottrell's ex-boyfriend Julian Morris as a person of interest.
No charges have been filed, and Morris鈥� lawyer has told us he had nothing to do with Cottrell's death.