Who killed this youth coach in front of his home? An African-American, Cedric W. Adkins-Malone, 22, was outside his home in Chicago's Rosemoor neighborhood on a mild Friday afternoon, working on a vehicle around 2:15 p.m., when a figure emerged from a gangway across South Calumet Avenue and opened fire.
Struck in the neck, the 22 year old was rushed to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Five days later he was pronounced dead, his life measured not only by the minutes between the shooting and his final heartbeat but by the fullness of
the days he had already given to family, teammates, and the kids who looked up to him.
Cedric was remembered as a local athlete and assistant youth coach who poured his energy into young players on Chicago's South Side.
Friends and mentors described him as the kind of steady presence who could fill a gym with laughter one moment and teach footwork the next.
His minor-league football family planned to honor him, and community organizers rallied behind the legacy his coaching left behind, saying his influence lingered long after the final buzzer of any game.
For years, the case had no public arrests.
Then, in November 2023, Chicago police announced they had taken 30 year old Darell Cobbins into custody in the 16500 block of South Kedzie in Markham and charged him with first-degree murder in the March 17, 2017 shooting on the 10200 block of South Calumet.
Authorities said he was scheduled for a detention hearing at 2600 South California; additional details were not immediately released.
The announcement marked the first major break disclosed by investigators since the 22 year old's killing, a development that returned a measure of momentum to a case long carried by memory and grief.
