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Family and KPD continue search for information in 2016 cold case

Ben Jernigan, 29, was killed when his car broke down just a few blocks from his house in North Knoxville on October 8, 2016.

UPDATE (12/14/2018): 

Investigators and family members continue to search for any information to help solve the cold case of Ben Jernigan's death in October 2016.

The Knoxville Police Department produced a video on the unsolved homicide detailing the investigation up to this point after neighborhood canvasing did not yield many leads.

Jernigan, 29, was killed when his car broke down just on the north side of the railroad tracks a few blocks from his home in North Knoxville at Fairfax Avenue and Forsythe Street on October 8, 2016. 

Investigators said Jernigan tried to fix the vehicle, but was unable to. 

The Knoxville Police Department said at some point in the early morning hours, an attacker shot Jernigan at point-blank range, and there was evidence a robbery took place.

At this stage, investigators say it appears to have been a random act.

"Whoever he was, or they were ... basically executed Ben at point blank range. Something no parent should ever go through," Guy Jernigan, Ben's father, said.

Ben Jernigan

Guy Jernigan and other family members joined KPD investigators back in March in canvassing the neighborhood near where Ben was shot, hoping to find anyone with new information about the crime.

They went door-to-door, searching for information about Jernigan's murder that October night on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Forsythe Street.

"I just want him off the streets," Guy Jernigan said of the unknown shooter.

No weapon was found after the shooting, and DNA tests were inconclusive. KPD says investigators have spoken to leads, but the case remains cold.

Family members remember Ben as a veteran, artist and family man with no record of bad behavior. 

"He was like a little something different to everybody ... but everybody loved him," Guy Jernigan said.

Investigators say they are still taking any leads to this case -- asking for people who may have seen someone out of the ordinary in that area to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call KPD investigator A.J. Loeffler at 865-215-7206 or its crime hotline at (865) 215-7212.

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