NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) -Rutta Simon wishes she could spend this Mother’s Day weekend with her mom, Freweini Gebremicael.
“There’s nothing like your mom,” Simon said teary eyed.
People in Nashville knew Gebremicael as ‘Winnie’.
On May 7, 2006, Winnie’s body was found in a ditch off Whitsett Road. She was shot and her body was set on fire.
“Whoever did this, they took a precious person from me. She didn’t deserve this. What they did was wrong,” Simon said.
It’s been 16 years and Winnie’s killer is still walking free. Simon, and her family members, are pleading for answers. They are hoping detectives find the person responsible for shooting and killed Winnie.
“I really need the community’s help to come forward and help me solve this. I can’t do this on my own. The family really needs justice. Even though we can’t bring her back, at least we can get justice for her and get some sort of closure as to what happened and why and who did it,” Simon explained.
On May 7, 2022, Winnie’s loved ones gathered at Richland Park for a vigil for the 34-year-old whose life was cut short.
“We came to this country when I was young to chase the American dream and for it to end up like this, it’s devastating,” Simon said she was two years old when she, her mom, and brother moved to the United States from the East African country, Eritrea. Winnie opened her own city coffee shop on Second Avenue after moving to Nashville.
There’s an $11,000 reward offered to anyone who comes forward with information about Winnie’s death.
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