John Arthur Norfleet, a 51-year-old Black male, was a local business owner and a father of five living in Detroit, Michigan. His life was tragically cut short on the morning of Tuesday, October 20, 2015. That day, between 11:10 and 11:40 a.m., Norfleet was sitting in his work van after completing repairs at the Lansing Street building apartments on the southwest side of Detroit.
While on a phone call, Norfleet asked the person on the other end to hold on.
He was then heard speaking with at least two other people before the line went silent. A concerned coworker, unable to reach him, drove to the apartment building to check on him. Upon arrival, the coworker made a grim discovery: Norfleet was dead in the driver's seat of his van, having been fatally shot.
In the wake of his death, family and friends mourned the loss of a man they described as a hard worker his entire life. His sister expressed her deep sorrow, stating he did not deserve such a fate and that his family desperately needed closure. The investigation into his murder faced challenges, characteristic of the high volume of homicide cases in Detroit at the time. Limited resources and a lack of witness cooperation were significant hurdles for the Detroit Police Department.
As of the latest available information, John Norfleet's murder remains unsolved, one of many cold cases in the city. Crime Stoppers offered a cash reward of $2,500 for any information that would lead to an arrest in the case. Despite the passage of time, the efforts to bring his killer or killers to justice have not yet been successful, leaving his family still waiting for answers.
