The Ambush of Kevin Harris | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] oh my oh my Lord it was disguise a limit for a 21y old that was talented and that everybody
[Music] loved I'm Kevin Harris's Dad okay he's my son and he was named after me it was going to be a Sunday like any
other even if he didn't go to church that day he was naive Kevin trusted in Soul maybe a little too
much he'd say why you got to tell everybody I'm your son I said because I'm proud of
you my best friend my teammate I haven't been able to watch a a father take his son to the park with a ball you know for
a while [Music] so [Music] he was making a name for himself cuz I heard where Britney and Rihanna actually
were interested in some of his material Kevin always had it the Beats were great I knew he was going to make it
some people have that thing where it's like you're Relentless to a point where nothing can stop you
the stuff that he would send me was a lot of like an R&B feel mixed with like pop pop and
Hip-Hop Church like gospel like those chords a lot of things were happening too quickly
it videos camera shoots Ice Cube track and he went to that dog on Studio that night and that
happened last day and he kissed me on it on my left cheek he hugged me and he just helded me
and I said what's wrong Kevin and he said nothing mom he said everything's just happening
so fast I feel like something's going to happen I said don't think like that 10 to 17 shots two different
handguns how much do you have to kill him a lot of suspicious things happened that
night the clues are absolutely out there we just need that one piece that one Smoking
Gun [Music] [Music] [Applause] time is of the essence I've hate how long my breath takes those are the words
of Kevin Harris on his Twitter account in the summer of 2009 Kevin was just 21 when he was
gunned down shortly after 8:00 p.m. on a September Sunday that same year he had been sitting in his car alone in
Englewood California a small City in Los Angeles close to LAX get a call at 9:15 are you at the
hospital I said for what what happened what's wrong Kevin's been shot Kevin Harris senior is Kevin's dad
we ran every light just to be told that we couldn't see him I was in denial Catherine is his mother the night that
he was murdered and I do say murdered people like to say he passed he did pass on but someone actually took the time to
murder him the harrises couldn't believe that somebody wanted their son dead this is this is Kevin this was
during the the the photo shoot that they had so handsome confident very confident tell me about your angel our
Angel our Ang she called him angel face his mother his mother I wish he could have met him he was beautiful man and he
was still close with his childhood friends like Cameron Woods we've known each other since we were like 2 3 years
old we continue going to the same school with each other all the way to all the way to
here um it's still so fresh yeah hold on sorry what are you thinking I don't want to
cry it's a little harder a little H yeah it's okay you know that right what do you miss most about him
his smile his generosity never heard anybody tell me anything bad about him say anything bad
about him never really heard him say anything bad about anyone besides my beard feel you know I
mean no one's perfect but he was he was close he was close to that the harrises led by example were
working hard dad at the LA airport and selling cars and Mom working retail they were regulars in church and
they sent Kevin to a Catholic school she and I were like helicopter parents under
surveillance at all time as a form of protection yes if he hadn't come home at a certain time I would text a question
mark just knowing the the possible hearts that lay out there in the street one of Kevin's Hobbies Cameron says was
hanging out with his mom spending time with his mom really yeah he love you wait wait wait a teenager enjoying
spending time with his parents I don't know if I should say it but he was like kind of like a mama's boy but I mean I'm
a mama's boy so there's nothing wrong with that Kevin was a perfect date Jasmine
Tanner was Kevin's High School sweet sart not really a huge dancer but like you know he had his little twostep that
he would do everything that he did was in from a very loving place the harrises kept their son
involved in sports especially basketball I'll take you through my house right now right here in my room
but his real calling was music much of the music you're hearing in this broadcast is his see this all you need
right here is a little kid right here you turn up the music for a second see got all that got the
turntables mix [Music] s he taught himself to play he taught himself he had Rock he had Classics he
had Jazz uh East Indian music soon after high school graduation Kevin landed a gig apprenticing at a
local music studio yeah he start boobing that head and then he just the next thing you know he's like oh oh listen to
this and then he'll click something it's like going to the next level by the summer of 2009 he'd stacked up hundreds
of hours in the studio he began breaking into the Los Angeles hipop scene but he
just wanted to be the best producer ever Kevin's Vibe was he was comfortable with himself Sonia techly is a poet and
singer one of a number of artists working with Kevin I had never felt comfortable
in recording sessions until my sessions with him and a lot of times like you know guys are just trying to like get at
girls and do all these things but he was just he stayed in his Lane he was focused on his
work as Kevin's career picked up speed he bragged about working at a big fancy Studio where Michael Jackson once
recorded Thriller and he was like right there like you know like a pin ball and you get your ball ready and and you pull
it back and then let go but everything would soon come to an abrupt and violent end my naive loving son probably just
could have been possibly Sleeping with the Enemy and had no [Music] idea [Music]
to this day no one has been charged for the murder of Kevin Harris they thought we're going to do
this sneaky stuff here and we'll get away with it they effed with the wrong father this
[Music] time Kevin Harris senior is determined to change that he spent the past 11
years Seeking Justice for his his namesake I never got to speak to Kevin that day at all I went to
work 9:00 a.m. he was still asleep and I looked in on him and I left that Sunday morning in the summer
of 2009 Kevin shared breakfast with his mother Catherine I saw have the plate the paper the
napkin the last carton of juice I have all of that from that day you Memorial realized
him I just love him I love him retracing their son's steps the harrises say nothing seemed unusual that
day from what I hear at some point he wound up at a Pop Warner football game and then later on he went to his
aunt's Karen Staten is the last known person to see Kevin alive he was his regular happy go-lucky
self hi Auntie how you doing what'd you cook and he stayed we ate we laughed we talked and after a few hours Kevin left
saying he was headed to the music studio I said Kevin don't go we're having too much fun I don't want you to go
yet and he said auntie I have to go because the studio is quiet no one's there I can record I can go over some
things I can write can perfect what I'm working on and we hugged each other and he was out the
door he drove to the studio in his beloved Green Camaro he was supposed to meet up with a friend known in the
community as a wannabe rapper but that friend was a no-show a lot of suspicious things happened that
night the studio was in a converted Garage in a residential neighborhood Kevin arrived but never made it out of
his car he was shot multiple times from two different guns I never expected anything
like this to happen to Kevin Kevin's friend Jasmine says he didn't have a chance to find out that he was shot
outside the studio that he loved to go to so much it was just like nowhere is safe the harrises went to the crimes
seen no more than 3 hours after their son had been shot the police were already gone it was already cleaned up
it was so weird and strange it was like why is this crime scene already done car
was gone everything it seems as if they were more expeditious in cleaning up their crime scene than they were in
trying to find out who did this within the proverbial 24 to 48 hours that's what it seemed
like C Catherine took what was left behind I walked around in front of the studio and I saw blood wipe the blood up
off the street and uh the glass from his window was on the ground and I used my hands as a broom to gather the
glass this young man deserves better than what happened here there was early speculation that Kevin's death was Gang
Related an assumption that upset his father you hear shot and kill and the first
thing you want to say drive by was he in the game no no he wasn't he was just a loving
young man with a heart as big as his church music journalist Raman Duke says no matter how innocent the victim is
people assume a crime like this is Gang Related cuz there's a young black man so
it's automatic yeah and in that and specifically within that neighborhood 100% young black man shot in the music
business yeah those are all elements and the odds of solving crimes with those elements are slim for one
thing witnesses can be hard to find people in these communities they stick together when these situations occur
they're like I'm not not dealing with with the law enforcement they weren't here to help us why we going to why we
going to help them I have seen people step forward but the majority of the time that doesn't happen
why a lot of times cuz they're afraid that person still has to live in that neighborhood there there might be
some retaliation there's this mentality where it's like just mind your own business as time passed Kevin's parents
felt that the police pushed their son's case to the back burner even when they tried to help and they would tell me
just go home just go home we'll take care of this we let the law enforcement handle
it unfortunately it didn't work it was sat on the police told 48 Hours quote our hearts go out to the parents and
family of Kevin the Englewood police department has done everything possible to bring closure and Justice to the
family the harrises continued to push for answers they held memorials for Kevin inviting the police and local
officials but the stress of losing their son took its toll the gun kills more than this
intended victim and it always will and after he died not right away but a lot of everything that meant everything to
our family was destroyed two years after Kevin's murder the harrises ended their 23-year
[Music] marriage it was a dark time for Kevin Senior he searched for [Music] Solace and he found it in church a
Baptist Church in the Los Angeles community of [Music] Watts my heart it's broken but God has
piece by piece put it back together Pastor Winford Bell helped the heartbroken father Channel his grief
into a newfound purpose speaking out against gun violence for Bell's organization Silver Lining of hope my
heart has been ripped Smither I really Revel in this because it's medicine to my soul to speak about the loss of my
son Kevin stepped up when they kill your baby it's few people that want to fight
to fix it so that your baby or my baby or anybody else's baby doesn't suffer the same
[Music] thing now more at peace with himself Kevin Senior found more will to keep up
the long fight to find out who murdered his son and he was about to get some unexpected help we're going to put as
much time and energy as it takes we will not stop we will figure this [Music] out
[Music] Kevin Harris Senor continued to speak out 6 years after his son's senseless
murder his heartbreaking story finally had an impact the local police brought in the FBI to work the case when I heard
I was going to get a call from the FBI I felt that all my aggressiveness wasn't in vain have
you met the parents I have the parents are fantastic and as soon as I met them we immediately bonded and
they have begged us to just find the people that did this and that's my commitment to them Vette Morgan is in
charge of FBI criminal investigations in Los Angeles I'm vested so we'll find them and we'll hold them accountable
Welcome to the New [Music] FBI I think the there was a tough case with you know not a lot of evidence
there was no DNA there was no actual physical touching FBI special agent Sean sterley got the case he started with the
crime scene photos and with what witnesses that did speak out saw a dark sedan that pulled up next to Kevin
Harris's Camaro the shots were fired from that car we believe there were probably three people in the car the
driver and two Shooters they were approximately about 6 in door Tod door so close that the shell Cas casings from
the shooters guns two of them end up inside Kevin's [Music] car also new to the case former LA
detective John Skaggs know the streets and I know how to talk to people where are you taking us right now
we're going to the crime scene where Kevin was killed there's a couple things I need to
look at and then there's a uh resident that I want to talk to scags came out of retirement to work with the local Cold
Case unit and assist the FBI so is this a hopeless case or a stalled case uh it is stalled and absolutely not hopeless
and what's the difference well there's still clues that haven't been burned out this is the street where Kevin was
murdered exactly [Music] detective scags walks into the house attached to the music studio hey John
skags from Englewood police and comes out a half an hour later with owner Randy Thomas Hi how are you I'm Michelle
Miller 48 hours so Michelle had a really good talk with Randy uh he was friends he knew Kevin for about four years and
Kevin would use his studio for for his music Randy says by the time he got outside that night the shooters were
gone I heard cap cap cap I thought it was firecrackers then the neighbor came outside and said somebody shot and you
saw Kevin's I saw the green camear I said oh my God oh my God the amms came in the fir truck and they pulled him out
tried to revive him but it was bad to see him here on the street in front of your house broke my
heart it's almost like someone had to have follow him here so you think it was someone he knew that I don't know but I
know that no one comes here on Sunday [Music] nights the new detectives confirmed what
Kevin's parents and friends had said all along Kevin Harris was really quite a remarkable kid and we probably did
somewhere close to 70 to 80 interviews we could not find anybody who would say anything you closely remotely uh
negative about [Music] him and they learned that in the months before his death Kevin's career was on a
roll this studio was his home base there a lot of steps be very careful okay so you have a sound mixer right you
have a sound booth right so this is where we do the music at and Kevin had key he can come anytime he' like to
come in the summer of 2009 Kevin was becoming better known by his stage name track
bully I think he was just really positive about the way his life was going I mean his name was track bully
for exactly cuz his tracks was crazy one of the artists Kevin was closest with was jizzel a hip-hop poet
and rapper seen in this video with Diddy I look at this picture and what do you see oh man that was just bro when he was
hungry like just trying to figure it out he got the TV on his hat for track bully
but by then he was already like lit kind of huh yeah yeah he was lit and I used to go by Lady g at the time so he' be
like what's up lady G like man you got to mess with me on the music man and so he finally like sent me a a like a at
your beat we can get it we get it get it jizzel and Kevin work together on Poppin a catchy tune they believe could
break through and become a hit this is poppin this is poppin wow that's you yeah man is that him right there yeah
willly right there off to the side yeah Kevin was clearly proud of that song jizzel may have been the star but Kevin
made sure everyone knew he was the force behind it and then there was his Triumph
of scoring a really big saale it was to hipop Star Ice Cube once again proudly tweeting about his feet right before he
was killed he had sold the track to Ice Cube I mean how big of a deal was that it's a very big deal Ice Cube was a
legend in music not just hip-hop it's music it's a really big deal Kevin's career was skyrocketing and
his dad was feeling a little uneasy if I would have had a chance I would have reeled him back in just a little bit
looking back Kevin Senor believes his son was playing with fire put it this way there's not this
evil Grim Reaper with a hood that's just standing around on streets normally is someone that you know or someone you've
had an acquaintance with a friend one day enem me the [Music] [Music] next the new detectives continued to study
the crime scene photos kind of like you see his life right there I mean high school basketball player great outside
shooter his laptop and his uh hard drive with all his his music so in his car for
all his loves and horribly that's where he died since Kevin's reputation was golden
they wondered if his death could have been a case of mistaken identity they learned Kevin wasn't the only one in
town with a green Camaro there was an active gang member that lived less than two blocks away from Kevin at the
time that gang member they say had a lookalike car I was able to interview him the guy's changed his life and he's
told me about some of the stuff that he was doing back in that day there could easily be a cause for somebody to
retaliate against anybody driving a green Comm when you grow up in La no matter how
sheltered you are or how strict your parents are you're going to run into the culture it's no secret that Los Angeles
does have a gang culture even though he wasn't in the streets I think we all kind of know what that's like you know
your parents can't protect you from everything but detectives now say they took a hard hard look at that mistaken
identity Theory and ruled it [Music] out they believe that Kevin rolled down his window to talk to the people who
drove up next to him that night and that he would not have done that unless he knew them so they're looking at each
other eye to eye that kind of dispels gang retaliation shooting where Kevin was misidentified for another gang
member they were convinced Kevin Harris was the intended target Target but why were there clues in his surging career
for one thing in the hip-hop business you can get rich overnight you have like really young
artists like 18 19 years old and they're millionaires two three years before that
they probably have $10 in their pocket Kevin hadn't made any big money yet but he definitely was a prospect a kid with
big potential he was really hustling trying to get artists and putting music together and getting his music heard
Kevin was all over the place he was putting himself out there more people more parties and his tweets
show it party in Baldwin Hills pool party at the [Music] custom there's no other way to kind of
attain your goals and aspirations without going at it 24/7 I could just see that in him you're
just showing up where you're supposed to show up and yourself out there putting himself out there he was
getting a little more flashy he put extra wide chrome wheels on his Camaro his dad didn't approve now you're kind
of blinging a little bit too much for maybe the average young man you have to be less visible and Kevin was also
getting louder on Twitter Kevin got real cocky his name was like really getting out there I did feel like you know maybe
he was kind of feeling himself a little fluffing his uh his little feathers I felt like blessing people with my
presence he tweeted word was that Kevin didn't want to work with people who weren't up to his level when you start
getting hot everybody wants a piece of you you just can't work with everybody and Sometimes some people get
offended by that things could happen out of those situations and Kevin wasn't shy about
calling some people out that's clear in his tweets I'm getting bored by my so-called peers and here he says someone
was quote exceeding their talent in the music business words like that could be a problem there's no
difference between that and dissing someone in the streets what is a diss a dis is disrespect it's a very real thing
and again it goes back to like these Street rules so a lot of this conversation is through social media
Twitter specifically I'm sure that Kevin was aware of it did he think it would lead to him potentially losing his
life I don't think so just who was Kevin dsing in those tweets no one knows for sure could it
have been that wannabe rapper who stood him up at the studio that night what was
there bad blood between them the people who knew Kevin best sensed he was uneasy
in the weeks before his death his demeanor did seem a little different I couldn't really pinpoint like what it
was but I can tell when someone's Vibe is off he'll come home couple times I'd see him look back out the door
I'd say Mr Wrong Man somebody following you n no I'm okay the Harris is that prepared Ed
Kevin for life growing up in a tough neighborhood there was sometimes gunfire in the area but they believed they
taught Kevin how to avoid it still Kevin Senior was taken aback by a question his
son had at one point he did ask me about what do you think about bulletproof windows I said why I said
Kevin is somebody bothering you no it's all right I'm okay I said just let me know I left here long enough
we could we could speak on it we can get it taken care of peacefully no I'm all right Dad it was
always I'm all right Dad I love you Kevin but something must have been wrong after Kevin died Catherine was surprised
to learn that he was thinking of joining the military and getting out of town a week after uh he was murdered I received
a letter from the recruiter's office for him to go see the recruiter you know a lot of people say timing is everything
and gosh I wish I kind of wish it would have came a week [Music] [Music] earlier get we get we get a we can get a
we can get it get it Kevin Harris never lived to see his recording played on the
radio that song by jizzel I was at work and then someone told me that it would be coming on and then I hear it and I
kind of broke down right there everybody came running over you know I said that's that's Kevin that's
my son 11 years later his father is putting his faith into the the new investigation
the clues are absolutely out there we just need that one piece that one Smoking Gun that we need to solidify
this this is an active case so the detectives won't name the names of anyone they have in their sites but
scags did drop this clue about Kevin's last day he had made plans with one of the individuals who's definitely a
suspect in this case to meet him at the studio at 8:00 as far as I know that individual was the only other person
that knew that Kevin was going to be at the studio at 8 p.m. we have now learned that that man
was Desmond Carter the wannabe rapper that Kevin was supposed to meet at the studio that night he definitely caught
the attention of the police in fact 48 Hours has learned that Desmond Carter was arrested for the murder of Kevin
Harris in 2017 and here's the record Carter was questioned but never charged with anything authorities told
us the evidence they had did not cross the threshold of Reasonable Doubt still Desmond Carter remains a
suspect that's partly because there had been bad blood between Desmond and Kevin
word on the street was that Kevin had dissed Desmond by refusing to give him beats whatever it was that brought Kevin
to the studio that night authorities suspect it was a trap I believe Kevin Harris was set up Kevin's own words may
support that theory 10 days or two weeks before his death when he told one of his
best friends that something's come up missing I'm getting blamed for it I didn't have anything to do with it but
I'm really scared of what might happen [Music] what had gone missing that Kevin was
being blamed for was it money drugs police have told 48 hours they do not believe that Kevin was dealing drugs
somebody blamed him for doing something that they did and blamed him to some big
hitters that were going to seek revenge this is a classic story of a kid who trusted too much in several other
people that he didn't really know that well but he gave them all his Trust and he ended up being killed as a
result we reached out to Desmond Carter he didn't want to go on camera or comment directly but through a friend he
said he had nothing to do with Kevin's death and that he thought of Kevin as one of his best friends I'm angry yes
I'm angry I'm angry with certain people that were hanging around my son because it has all the ear marks of someone that
he knows knows well that was in the circle I grew up at the beach I really love the ocean and it's always been part
of my life detective Scag says walking on the nearby Beach helps clear his head and reminds him to be
patient it does not discourage me it's if these cases were easy they' all be solved I know that some of the people
that I'm interviewing are not telling me the truth so you know just makes it so hard detectives are hoping for new
information there was a ton of circumstantial evidence that kind of end ends up adding up into one big
significant theory that I think we're very close to proving we think we're 80 85% there I am fully confident that this
case is going to be solved yeah so anybody who has any information about what happened to Kevin
that day whether they were an eyewitness overheard something at a later date or later got knowledge of what happened to
Kevin and who Hur him that person needs to come forward for so many reasons first of all for justice justice for
Kevin and his family it's the right thing to do and could be preventing these bad guys from hurting more people
we really need help from the public and anybody who knows anything about this case and what happened to him and what
happened that night to come forward and that's what our plea is to uh to the public as the case stands today the
murder of Kevin Harris remains unsolved you still miss him what do you miss most I just miss his spirit I think um
it's just not knowing you know not knowing not supposed to cry but um just not knowing like to
see all that potential just to see that the path that he was on to know the support support that he had from
everyone around him it's just really unfortunate to not be able to see that just you know reach his full
potential you know so I just I just miss the spirit I miss having him around I miss I miss the fact that I that we all
missed the chance to see how he would grow you know Kevin's parents say they'll never
give up I have nothing else to do with the grief that I feel every day but to be motivated by when I walk out the door
each day let's kick some doors in this stay Relentless with this you can't hide from God you can hide here on Earth duck
and Dodge go to another state go to another continent whatever but you can't hide from
God the FBI helped fund Billboards to help get new information they've also contributed to a $50,000 reward the
harrises say the reason they agreed to talk with 48 hours is their hope this will finally bring Justice for their son
but when I go to sleep and I dream he's always there with [Music] me for my son I'm never going to stop
[Music] grieving murdered he was a murdered these pictures are in my room and to be honest with you since we
resemble each other so much I turn them backwards it's kind of hard to look at him all the time like that Kevin Harris
Senor doesn't need to look at those pictures anymore because the image of his son is fresh in his mind every
single day and he is consumed with solving this case for one reason so I can lay my son soar rest
properly his mother and I will make sure his passion and his dream lives on [Music]
the FBI is asking for information from the public the tip line phone number is 3104776565
take an in-depth look into the investigation to find who killed Kevin Harris at 48
hours.com I just my boyfriend the night but police say she confessed to murder i l one big
problem you can't hear it how do you mess up the confession what will a jury believe 48 hours Saturday at 109 Central
on [Music] CBS

A music producer on the edge of stardom has a dark premonition — then he’s gunned down. His parents want answers. "48 Hours" contributor Michelle Miller reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV. True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Kevin Harris, a promising music producer, was murdered at 21; his family fights for justice amid ongoing investigations.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Kevin Harris. Kevin Harris, a talented young musician, was gunned down at just 21 years old.
A Mother's Heartbreak. Catherine Harris reflects on the day her son was murdered, expressing her love and loss.
The Impact of Gun Violence. The Harris family discusses the toll of losing their son to gun violence.
Seeking Justice. Kevin Harris Senior dedicates his life to finding justice for his son after his murder.
Mistaken Identity Theory. Detectives explore the possibility that Kevin was a victim of mistaken identity.
The Rise of Kevin Harris. Kevin hustled in the hip-hop scene, aiming for success at a young age.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was beautiful man and he was still close with his childhood friends.

A friend reminiscing about Kevin's character.

5:52WatchJan 30, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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