Twenty years after her son was shot to death, a Baltimore mother is still hoping to get some answers.
Donald Bentley was beginning his sophomore year at Morehouse College in 1989 when he was shot in the back and killed while out with friends.
His mother said the passage of time has in some ways intensified her grief, as she worries that she won't ever get any explanation for his death and the two decades of silence that followed.
Donald Bentley | VIEW MORE PHOTOS OF BENTLEY
"He was a good kid, smart -- wasn't an angel, but he brought a lot of joy to our life," Bentley's mother, Ellen Bentley, said.
She said he made his parents proud, excelling at track, football and debating.
The 19-year-old was getting ready to return for his sophomore year of college in August 1989, when he decided to spend a night out with friends at the old Wall Street Lounge.
"They were approached by a couple who had the intent of robbing them -- two young men broke to run," police Sgt. Roger Nolan said.
Investigator said Bentley was shot to death in the back as he ran, and officers have been chasing down information ever since. The problem is they don't have any leads.
"I don't believe that no one said anything about this murder that night," Bentley, 76, said. "This past week, I was a mess. I thought, 'I'm getting older and nothing has surfaced, no one has called.'" "We lose the flavor of the original crime scene the longer the case goes on. Some witnesses expire, some move away."
- Sgt. Roger Nolan
"We lose the flavor of the original crime scene the longer the case goes on. Some witnesses expire, some move away," Nolan said.
The Bentleys said they are still hopeful that someone's conscience will prompt them to offer a clue and help them figure out who shot Donald Bentley.
"I feel that he could've made a real difference here -- not only in our lives but in others," Bentley said.
Donald Bentley does have an enduring legacy. A food pantry that bears his name feeds 125 families in Baltimore every week.
Anyone with information about the case should contact the Baltimore City Police Department's Cold Case Squad at 410-396-2121.
You must be logged in to see or use the Shoutbox. Besides, if you haven't registered, you really should. It's quick and it will make your life a little better. Trust me. So just register and make yourself at home with like-minded individuals who share either your morbid curiousity or sense of gallows humor.
WV Mom Charged In Death Of Teen Found 'Emaciated To A Skeletal State'
