When 20-year-old Clarence Bourne was shot and killed at 39th and Budlong in Exposition Park on June 23, 2013, it was just days before he was set to graduate from Venice Youth Build where he had been studying to be an electrician.
"He was very young when he got murdered," his sister Kamaiya Bourne says."It was the beginning of his life."
Clarence graduated at the top of his class, was given his diploma posthumously.
And for his family, his life - and his death - remain at the top of their minds.
"Our house was so close to where he got murdered that we could hear the gunshots," Kamaiya recalls. "And there were so many that we thought they were fireworks."
LAPD South Bureau Homicide Cold Case Section released crime scene photos for the first time this week.
Evidence markers show the shell casings scattered on the ground - more than 15 of them.
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Detective Ben Perez says Clarence was walking home from a girlfriend's house when he was approached by two men, who opened fire.
It was just before the 4th of July, which could be why some callers to 911 seemed so confused.
They thought they heard fireworks, some realized they were gunshots, and one caller gave police the information that's become the crux of the case.
Caller: "And the people that did it ran down the street."
911: "OK and did you see if it was men or women running?"
Caller: "Men."
911: "How many?"
Caller: "2."
911: "White, Black, Hispanic?"
Caller: "Black."
Five years of no arrests, though, and Clarence's family still feels haunted.
"I will never forget that day," his aunt Amenta Hunt says. "They took away a piece of my heart."
Clarence's sister says he left the family's home just after 9 p.m.
He was later killed on the same streets he once wrote about in a class project about his life story:
"Growing up in Los Angeles is not the easiest place to live. From hearing helicopters at night while you were sleeping to hearing gunshots at the house party. In the area of LA where I live, there is a lot of poverty and violence happening. Every day is a struggle where I live due to poverty and violence. You have to watch your back."
The Bourne family is making a public plea for help, hoping that with the time that's passed, it could be the comfort an eyewitness needs to come forward.
"Who would do that?" Kamaiya asks. "Just show yourself. That's all."
His aunt goes a step further.
"We just want Clarence to be at rest," she says. "Right now we don't have peace because we don't have any justice. Without justice, there's no closure."
Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5113. Anonymous tips can be called into CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
