In the summer of 2015, a young man from Detroit, Osean Ham Lockett, vanished, leaving his family engulfed in a nightmare of uncertainty. The 19-year-old African-American male, the youngest of eight children and a recent high school graduate, was last seen on the evening of July 6, 2015. His mother had dropped him off near a BP gas station after his shift boarding up vacant houses in the city.
When he didn't return home, his family knew something was wrong, as it was uncharacteristic of the good-natured young man they called 'Ham' to stay out without notice.
For two agonizing months, his mother, Brenda Burton, spearheaded a tireless search. Family, friends, and volunteers combed through the west side neighborhood where he was last seen, exploring abandoned houses, desolate railroad tracks, and any place a missing person might be found. Their desperate hope for his safe return persisted through the long days and nights of searching. The grim discovery that would shatter that hope came on September 5, 2015. While cleaning storm drains, workers with the Department of Public Works found a body in a storm sewer. The family was tipped off about the discovery, and Osean's brother, Trevon Nichols, was one of the first to identify the remains based on the clothing his brother had been wearing when he disappeared. The body was in a state of advanced decomposition.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed the family's worst fears, identifying the body as Osean Lockett and determining the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds. The Detroit police immediately began investigating his death as a homicide. The investigation led them to a man named Michael Ferguson. According to some reports, witnesses had seen a man matching Ferguson's description, wearing a mask and brass knuckles, approach and assault Lockett.
In the spring of 2016, Michael Ferguson agreed to a plea deal. However, it was not for murder but for gun possession charges in connection with Osean Lockett's death. The deal resulted in a sentence of two years in prison and two years of probation. For Osean's grieving mother, this outcome brought little solace or sense of justice for her son's stolen life. The case officially remains a homicide, and the family continues to mourn the profound loss of a young man on the cusp of his adult life.
