SPRINGFIELD -- City police still need help tracking down the killers in two recent murders. Now a witness to one of those crimes also is asking for the public's help.

A man shot and killed Francisco Gaspar, 20, in the chest late Friday night at a home on North Nettleton Avenue. Less than 24 hours later, someone shot and killed David Kelly just a few blocks away, in the 800 block of West Locust Street.

Police say what they need in both cases is witnesses who will tell them what they saw and heard.

Candles, flowers, and religious statues just started showing up outside the home where Gaspar was shot. Linda Faz opened her home to the young man nicknamed Paco because he needed a place to stay.

"He treated me just like a mother. He helped me; he was here for me and, even that night, he was here for me because he took the bullet instead of me," she said in an interview.

Faz says Gaspar's ex-girlfriend came to the home with a man to confront Gaspar over the breakup. She says she tried to call police before the man pointed the gun at her.

"By the time it was over, Paco had thrown me out of the way and he lunged at the guy and took a bullet in the chest," said Faz.

Faz is speaking out because she hopes others will help catch the people who turned her home into a crime scene and took the life of her friend.

"The police have done everything they can do. They're doing a great job but I wanted it brought out more in the public," she said.

Police say Gaspar's case isn't the only one with which they could use help. They're still searching for Kelly's murderer.

"We'll take anonymous tips; if you want to meet in a secure location, we can do that," said Cpl. Matt Brown, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.

Faz just hopes someone will remember Gaspar and will speak up.

"I just loved him as much as my own boys," she said. "I just want for him -- I want justice."

The killers are described as a white womaln and a Hispanic man. They were driving a silver S-10 pickup, possibly between model years 2002 and 2004.

Faz says Gaspar's family took his body to Mexico for burial but she hopes to organize a memorial service for his friends in Springfield.