CONWAY, Arkansas — Lakea Smith's house is filled with pictures of her family— now these photo albums and some videos are all she has left of her son.
"These are Mother's Day pictures [we took together.] I'm glad I did because that was a part of the last month we had," said Smith.
Lakea's son, Jody Loring, was 18 years old when he died.
He had just graduated from Conway High School and was adjusting to life as a new father— his world revolved around his 3-month-old son, SynCere.
His mother described him as creative, curious, and caring towards those around him.
"When he would see you by yourself or sad, he would say, 'Smile! The day will get better I promise,'" said Smith.
His future was full of promise until everything changed on May 24, 2018.
"He was sitting in [the living room] with the baby and just talking about life. You know, 'I've got a lot of things planned that I want to do,'" said Smith. "And he was ready for it... not knowing it would be cut short."
That night soon became the worst day of Lakea's life.
After Lakea had gone to bed, Jody left to drop off his son at his girlfriend's house, a normal routine they had after she got off work.
"He left about 10, maybe 11, and [around] 12 o'clock they called. They said he had been shot," said Smith. "I jumped out of the bed and I went down. I just collapsed."
As Jody left his girlfriend's house on Donaghey Avenue, he was suddenly shot and killed— still parked in front of the house where his girlfriend and son were inside.
"When I seen my son laying on the ground that memory plays. It just rewinds itself and it just plays," said Smith.
Conway police allowed us to see some of the crime scene photos. His Suburban was parked on the property and had several bullet holes in the driver's side window.
Lieutenant Tom Kennedy with the Conway Police Department investigated Jody's murder for a year.
"It just makes it more tragic when they're young like that," said Lt. Kennedy.
He and his predecessors who worked on Jody's case before him were unable to make an arrest, but are still actively working to make sure the case doesn't go cold.
"Everything I've seen about him is he was a very good kid. I feel horrible for his family and I'd like to do my part to bring that to a closure," said Lt. Kennedy.
Jody's mother believed he was not the intended victim of this crime.
"They just didn't know who was in that car. They know that they were targeting that house, so they just got the first thing that they had seen," said Smith.
She said that closure will come when they are able to arrest the person who killed Jody— for now, Lakea will keep fighting for her son.
"We do want justice and I'm not going to stop until I get it," said Smith.
There is a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Jody's killer. If you know anything that can help the investigation, you are asked to call Conway Police Department at (501)450-6120.