Roommate charged after man murdered outside home, police say
By ADAM MURPHY
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — The family of a metro Atlanta father killed outside his Forest Park home shared the tragic story only with Atlanta News First.
Linda Crowder spoke with us from her home nearly 2,000 miles away in Las Vegas.
“God needed him for something else and he’s in a better place, but the way he died was horrible,” Crowder said. “I won’t ever see my son again. Never talk to him, never laugh with him, never hold him.”
She said her son, 42-year-old Eric Crowder was murdered last month outside his home on Waverly Drive in Forest Park.
“He was not out there gang banging, he was not out there robbing. He was doing nothing to nobody and these people,” Crowder said.
Crowder’s family said he got into a disagreement with his roommates on Dec. 19. Then on his way out the door to work, they said one of his roommates put him in a choke hold for 10 minutes and proceeded to beat him in the head until the police arrived.
“They always say the good die young, but what about the evil? Why can’t the evil die young?” Crowder asked.
Crowder went into cardiac arrest, was put on life support and died this week.
Forest Park Police confirmed that one of Crowder’s roommates, 24-year-old Daniel Benjamin, has been charged with his murder.
“I am broken. I am broken. I am broken for my cousins, I am broken for my aunt, this is a pain that is so, so painful,” The victim’s cousin Angela Kennedy said.
“This right here, this is a pain that is unbearable, unspeakable, and unbelievable,” Crowder said.
On top of the emotional pain, the family is facing a financial struggle to bring Crowder’s body back to the West Coast for a proper burial.
Forest Park Police tell Atlanta News First that the investigation into the case continues.
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