Sep 24, 2006 11:00 pm US/Central
Cold Case: Police Seek Help Solving Teen's Murder
Chicago Police Cold Case Squad: 312-746-9690
by Jim Williams
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Nineteen-year-old Filmon Tesfai was killed a day before he was to leave for college.
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Filmon's parents and the community are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the teen's killer.
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Cold Case CBS 2 series
CBS
We are beginning a new series called Cold Case -- murder investigations where police need your help if they are ever to be solved. CBS 2 News worked with Chicago police for this first story.
This is the story of Filmon Tesfai, who was murdered three years ago. Had he lived, he would be in college studying to become a doctor.
A mother and father are devastated by the senseless murder of their 19-year-old son one day before he was to start college.
Sacrifice and struggle is no stranger to this family. Filmon was just a baby when they risked their lives to escape violence and war in Eritrea, traveling 12 days with little food or water to reach Sudan. But life there was no better.
Filmon's father Zerai Tesfai still has the wounds when his truck hit a land mine. So once again, the family left everything behind to come to the U.S., first to Florida and then 10 years ago to Chicago.
"I work everyday almost 17, 18 hours every day to sacrifice my life to get better," Zerai Tesfai said.
The hard work paid off. Filmon became an alter boy and graduated from Gordon Tech High School where he was an honor student. He was on his way to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"He tell me, 'daddy when I go finish college you don't have to work,'" Zerai Tesfai said.
"Filmon was about to embark on the American dream," said Det. John Pellegrini with the Chicago Police Department.
But the dream ended Aug. 18, 2003. Filmon and two friends had just finished helping another friend pack for college.
"The friend left and Filmon and his friends sat in his vehicle parked at 702 N. Ada at which time they sat in the car and conversed. A few minutes later a mid- to early-90s bubble-type Chevy pulled up containing two male Hispancis," Pellegrini said. "The front passenger's window was rolled down at which he points a semiautomatic handgun and continue to fire into the vehicle approx nine,10 times."
Filmon was dead. Police say it was a case of mistaken identity. The killer is still out there and there are no new leads.
"We're hoping someone who wasn't interviewed looked out the window, saw this or some of these offenders friends, may have info, who might rock their conscience," Pellegrini said.
"Please, our son never involved in any drug, any gun, any criminal activity," Tesfai said. "If you heard anything or see anything, please help us, help the police."
The Tesfai family, along with their church and community, is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Filmon's killer.
Anyone with information should call the Chicago Police Cold Case Squad at 312-746-9690.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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