Do you know who murdered Dorian Bluford in 2017? A new chapter in Knoxville, Tennessee, was supposed to be a fresh start for 32-year-old Dorian Bluford, an African-American man, but it ended in brutal violence just hours after his arrival. On May 30, 2017, Bluford flew from Houston, Texas, with plans to move in with a man he called his 'best friend,' but who his family knew to be his boyfriend. This man had reportedly arranged a new job for Bluford, purchased his plane ticket, and promised him a car to use.
Airport security footage captured the man picking Bluford up in a BMW. Bluford documented his journey on social media, checking in at the airport and later at a restaurant in Sevierville, where a witness saw him with a man, appearing to be a happy couple.
The promise of a new beginning turned into a nightmare later that evening in a wooded area of the First Creek Greenway. Around 10 p.m., a woman living nearby called 911, reporting horrifying screams of a man yelling, 'He's stabbing me, he's stabbing me.' She and her husband then saw a BMW leaving a parking lot close to the greenway. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered Bluford's body. He had been stabbed 37 times in his chest, back, neck, and arms and was dead when they found him. Investigators quickly ruled out robbery as a motive, as his wallet and money were left untouched. However, the murder weapon was never found, nor were his luggage and cellphone.
The investigation soon focused on the 'best friend' Bluford had moved to be with. When questioned by police, the man claimed that after dinner, Bluford asked to be dropped off at someone else's house, and he was unsure where Bluford went afterward. The man provided little information and quickly retained a lawyer. Authorities learned that he left town shortly after the murder, checking into a motel in another city with a guest. A search of his car produced Bluford's insurance card in the trunk. Despite these suspicions, authorities stated they did not have enough evidence to press charges, and no arrests have ever been made in the case. Bluford's family believes he was intentionally lured to Knoxville and set up. The violent death of Dorian Bluford, on the eve of what would have been his 33rd birthday, remains an unsolved murder, leaving his loved ones searching for justice.
