Family and friends of Darrell Gott Jr. march in his honor, ask for answers after 2020 killing
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Friends and family of Darrell Gott Jr. marched in Springfield more than nine months after his death.
Gott died in a shooting in July of 2020. The case is open.
Gott’s friends and family gathered at Washington Park Saturday in his honor, near where he was shot in his car before crashing it into a parked van down the street.
His girlfriend, Emily Meyer, gave birth to their baby girl four months ago. Gott was never able to meet his daughter Haven.
“He was 18 so just imagine someone that you love who is so young with their whole life ahead of them having every dream, every goal, every opportunity taken from them and their family,” Meyer says.
Gott’s mom, Jackie Baker, says Haven has been a light for her and that Gott would’ve loved to be a dad.
“He was kind of a mama’s boy which is something I liked,” Baker says. “He was just a sweet kind person. Nothing like this should have happened to him.”
Baker says they chose to march in Washington Park, just down the street from where he died, hoping to bring awareness to his case.
“A lot of unanswered questions,” Baker says. “A lot of what ifs. It doesn’t make it easier. Your mind kind of does tricks and just kind of waiting for something to happen.”
Meyer says every day she thinks about what she’ll tell her daughter when she asks about her dad in the future.
“What am I going to tell my daughter when she asks me where’s my dad. Why do all of my friends have dads and I don’t,” Meyer says. “That’s a hard thing.”
Meyer says they’re looking for answers and someone in the community knows what happened to him, but has not come forward.
“You see a lot of stories of people years later trying to find justice, trying to find answers, and we don’t want his to be another story like that,” Meyer says. “It can’t be.”
Meyer says her daughter has been a blessing and she sees a piece of him every time she looks at her.
“I don’t think I would be handling things as well as I have been if it weren’t for her,” Meyer says. “She’s kind of been my rock so I’m glad that I have her to kind of help me.”
His family is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. If you have any information you can leave an anonymous tip at 417-829-6230.
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