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This is one of the most brutal murders in the history of this city. Rashawn's gruesome murder will forever trouble a dedicated detective who retired without solving it and will haunt Rashawn's mother who's had to live with it every day.
Interviewer (Nick)
Good afternoon, Desire. Thank you for joining me here in the garage today to talk about your son's case. Could you tell.
Desiree Brazell
Thank you for having me.
Interviewer (Nick)
You're most welcome. Could you tell me and the listeners a little bit about your son, Rashaun?
Desiree Brazell
Yes, I can. What can I say? Rashaun was the type of kid where he always was there to give a helping hand. I didn't find out how much of a helping hand that my child was giving out until his passing. I didn't know that my child was helping out one of the teachers that live in my building with her kids with a project of an earth project that he assist them with that. She said he took the time out. He came to the school, they went on these, the park trails and he picked up things for the kids. My son used to take food out my refrigerator and give it to the people across the street. My son was very. How can I say it? Not into fashion, but he liked old clothing like the fisherman hats. And he was just an old soul and always made sure that if he could, he was. He was willing to help anyone.
Interviewer (Nick)
Was he as smart as he was good looking?
Desiree Brazell
Yes. Yes, he was. The smartness is I discovered that Rashawn was. Back then, you know, we had the video movies. You know, the movies that you put in the vcr.
Interviewer (Nick)
Mm.
Desiree Brazell
He was renting them out for a dollar.
Interviewer (Nick)
Had his own little business going. Huh.
Desiree Brazell
Had his own little business going where he can, you know, get his little snacks or whatever his favorite snacks was chocolate chip cookies and milk.
Interviewer (Nick)
Could you tell us about the last time that you saw for Sean?
Desiree Brazell
It was Valentine's Day morning And I was up getting ready to work. He was a little concerned because Sean was the type of person where he always believe in having a job, like, was a must for him. I remember when he had this job and he was going to school and working at night, and, you know, I didn't like it, but I know he loved his independence. So that morning he was up, he was getting his clothes ready. He had this little bag with his resume. And, you know, he was a little concerned because he had been out of work not that long, but a couple months, and it bothered him. So I remember when I got to the train station, I called him and I said, listen, your phone bill, and if you have any other little bills, you know, mommy's here. Mommy's gonna help you. I don't want you stressing over the fact that no one has called you back yet from the few interviews that you went on. You will get a job. Until then, Mommy got you, and I'll see you later. Because he was my Valentine date. Mommy and son was supposed to get together that day and, you know, have lunch and everything.
Interviewer (Nick)
Rashawn doesn't show up for this date. And what can you take us through the process of what prompted you to report him missing? And how did you go about reporting him missing?
Desiree Brazell
Well, I called him. I mean, you know, my call went straight to voicemail. And, you know, I kept calling. I kept calling, I kept calling. So I left work. And I remember the last call I made to him. I said, I can't believe you stood me up. You got me worried. I haven't spoken to you. When I get home, you better have a good excuse. When I got home, he was not there. I started panicking a little bit because we talk maybe three or four times a day when I'm at work. So at work, I'm thinking maybe he didn't charge his phone, maybe his phone died or whatever. And I was going to get home, and, you know, he's going to be like, mom, this is what happened. But he wasn't there. And I had an issue with that. I stayed up most of the night. Any little noise I heard, I'm thinking it was him coming in the door. When Rashawn didn't come home that night, I immediately knew something was wrong. I went to work. I started calling the hospitals to see if anyone came in. When I did call the police to make a report, they came out. But this is what I was told. Due to his age, and he wasn't a special needs child, there really wasn't Much there they can do. I was told that maybe he was just hanging out with his friends and, you know, he'll be home soon. And what I was trying to tell the officer was that, no, he wasn't. That wasn't the type of child he was. He didn't, he didn't do that. That, that wasn't his thing. And he would have contacted me if, you know, that was the case.
Interviewer (Nick)
So the police follow up was just them coming out that day. Was did you hear before the 17th of February, did you hear anything back from the police other than them coming out?
Desiree Brazell
No. No.
Interviewer (Nick)
Now, of course, it took several years with no answers with you really being the one to lead the charge with petitioning America's most wanted to cover the case and keeping tabs on even the detectives and who's working the case and what, if any, progress they had, because from an outsider looking in desire, it appears to me like they had a lot of ideas early on. They were working a lot of leads and talking to a lot of people that knew Rashawn early on. And then for a lack of better term, the case kind of went cold. Could you tell us a little bit about the kind of that down period in the investigation when they had kind of run out of leads? It starts to get cold and now it's just mom and family leading the charge.
Desiree Brazell
I have to be honest, in the beginning of my son case, I did not feel that the detectives in the very beginning was really working my son case. I have to be honest with that. My son case didn't really start getting worked until Detective Amato took it over himself. I'll never forget how this detective came to me and he said, well, you know, the people that I've talked to, no one has had any bad thing to say about your son. You know, when I got called, I decided to do a march, you know, to keep his name out there to let them know somebody knows something, whatever, you know, you know, I gave my email, you know, I gave numbers that, you know, people can reach out to. I got together with this church and we used to go out on Nostra Avenue where he was found on the train tracks there, and we would light candles and, you know, certain news reports would come out and, you know, I would say, once again, somebody knows something. Whatever little thing that you think is not important, talk about it, tell somebody about it. I, it, I gave gatherings, you know, I sold dinners just, you know, in his name. There was a scholarship fund. It was called the Rashawn Memorial Scholarship Fund. That was Started with, you know, Larry Lyons and some of his other people. We got together and we was able. We were so successful in raising money where we sent other kids to college, you know, with money that was donated. I tried to do everything I possibly could to make sure that this. His case just didn't go cold. And nobody, you know, wasn't working on it. And it just. It just. It was hard for me. It was hard because I knew somebody out there had took my son's life. And the way that they did it, they didn't even allow me to look upon his face again. So with all of that, it just had me charged. I mean, in the beginning, I was so angry, you know, I was heard. I was so many emotions. I wanted to know why. And, you know, how could this have happened? And I even blamed myself for a while because I felt like maybe I led him to believe that, you know, everybody needs help. And because of the work that I do, you know, I wanted my child to feel like, you know, the homeless, the weak, the people that you can help, you can help. Maybe I made a mistake about that, but I just kept going. I just kept going.
Interviewer (Nick)
Detectives have a term for the category that. That your son would be for an investigator. And I don't know if anybody's ever shared this with you, but some detectives use the term true in a sense. True, innocent, or absolute innocence. And the persons that fall into that category, you know, because you hear on the news and you see it in the newspapers, all this. This person, this senseless act of violence ended this innocent person's life. But as far as the detectives are concerned, there are actually very small portion of the population that are. True innocence. True innocence. And your son would fall into that category. Oftentimes it's someone that is too young, you know, like a young child who. Who doesn't have an extended social circle, is too young to be up to anything that might put them in harm's way or running around with the wrong crowd. And your son falls into that. That category of a person, a good person who was doing good things and was truly innocent. And unfortunately, what we did not know at the time in 2005, is that this. This person who is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, who could only be categorized as a monster, was living and had some association with your family living close. And one of the most startling things, and this is something that I picked up in the news, so forgive me if this is wrong, but, you know, there's nothing easy about this case. There's nothing comfortable to talk about with this case. But one thing that stood out and made me incredibly angry. And I wanted to hear your thoughts on this, and maybe if there's a way that you can convey how you felt and what you experienced at the time after the arrest of Gavon. The way that this was reported is you're in court, and he's supposed to be paying attention, facing the judge. And did he turn to you and say something or turn to you and whisper or mouth something to you?
Desiree Brazell
Yes, he mouthed to me, I love you. It took every fiber of my being to not run up and try to choke the life out of him. But what I realized was this person was trying to victimize me, and I wasn't going to allow that because I have already been through enough. It shocked me to find out that this young man ended up being connected to my son. When Detective Motto told me he was retiring, I said, okay, that's it. It's over. There's that. Where do I go? And, you know, he said, but I have someone that wants your son's case. Now, I admit, you know, I was a little, well, why do this officer want my son's case? And, you know, he introduced me to Jason, and, you know, I asked Jason, why did he want this case? And I remember him telling me, when your son case first hit, I put that article on by my desk, he said, because I felt like if it did not end up getting solved and it do end up in the cold case unit, I wanted it, he said, because I, I, you know, I was always hearing about something the family was doing. You know, talking to Detective Model and him telling me how passionate you and your family was about trying to find out who did this. He said, I just refuse to allow this case to just go and nothing be done. So with all the hard work, I'll never forget it. It was around Christmas time, and I have finally decided to celebrate Christmas because Christmas was Sean's holiday. And since I lost him, I, you know, I just didn't do it. And I'll never forget when they called me and I went to meet with them, and, you know, when they gave me this information, I lost it because this person lived right across the street from me. I know this person's family. When I say know the family, I know the family. Now, me and this young man did not have a good rapport with one another at all. And when I discovered that there was a possibility of a connection, when I sat in that court and he said that to me, I was like, okay, No, I said, I see what you're doing. You want me to act out. You want to see my hurt. I said, but I'm gonna be better than you. I'm a hold this, and I'm gonna let the system do what they need to do to get you off the street.
Interviewer (Nick)
He tried to play the victim in the courtroom at times, yes. And he. It seems like he liked the spotlight or to cause drama to draw attention to himself.
Desiree Brazell
I agree. Drama is not the word. We was in the lobby when they brought him in. It was ridiculous. Like, me, my son, Sean's brother, and one of my son friends, we were standing there. I had to hold them back because they was like, look at him. Like, look at the act was. It was something to see. It really was. But that I love you thing, yeah, that was it for me. Mind you, though, no one told him to turn around. He got away with that.
Interviewer (Nick)
The police, after. After the arrest, it sounds like, especially things that we heard from Detective Palomar, that the police felt pretty good about their case against Gavon. And we know that many people felt good about the case against him because it goes to the grand jury and they decide that, yes, these charges are warranted. This should go to trial. How and why do these charges get dropped against someone who has committed such heinous horrible acts and against more than one victim as well.
Desiree Brazell
I'm confused as you are. When they did the first trial with him, with the young lady that he brutally killed and he was convicted, I remember clearly what the DA said to me. He said, Now, Ms. Brazile is your turn, and we're going to see to it that you get the justice that you deserve. Now, remember, Covid hit. Then remember there was a disaster where all the evidence was and certain things they had was lost. But you know what? They had so much more. When I say detector, a model and his partner, Jason and Evelyn, when the cold case shooter got together, when I say they gave them so much more, I was so angry. I was angry because it was like a slap in Jason's face. It was a. It was a slap in the whole cold case unit phase because it kept on. It kept adjourning. It kept adjourning. And I'm gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell you, I started getting the feeling. And I always ask the same question. Are we good? Are we good? Oh, Ms. Brazell, you have nothing to worry about. We're good. We good? Well, finally Covid ends. Finally, we're getting court dates. Me and my family sat in that courtroom it was just one thing after another after another after another. And then I remember the day I watched the da, his lawyers, go up to the bench. There was a conversation I didn't share with my family, but I said, they're discussing to let this case go. After that day, they set a date. I asked to speak to her. She took me and my sister in a room and lied directly to my face that we was going to go to trial. I asked her, I said, is everything good? She said, yes, we're going to trial. I said to her, I want to thank you for allowing it to go to trial, because even though, you know, y' all in the DA Office feel like, okay, y' all lost whatever y' all lost in the evidence, I appreciate the fact that you're going to allow a jury to decide his faith. You're going to present what you have, what you had that was strong enough for the grand jury to indict him without that evidence you have being presented to them. And I said, I appreciate that. I said, whatever happens at trial, I will accept the outcome. Well, she called me. I was getting off from work, and she said to me, oh, Ms. Brazell, I'm going to need you to come into the office because I need to speak with you. I said, wow, I don't like the sound of this. And she said, well, I just need for you to come in. So her tone on the phone had already told me what was going to happen. I went into the office, and a friend of mine went with me. It destroyed me to hear that they was going to dismiss the case, but his here, what they felt like was satisfactory for me. Oh, but don't worry. He's in jail for life. He's never going to get out. And we will see to it every time he comes up for parole, that he never makes parole. And I said to her, but what do that do for me? Because for me, he didn't answer for my son's life. I said, I'm going to tell you something. I feel like if my son was from a different background or a different area, no matter how little evidence you had, you still would have took this to trial. But it sounds like to me, you're saying my son case was insignificant. It doesn't matter. I should be happy that, you know, y' all got through the first trial. He's not worth the money for the second trial, and he got life. So there it is. I left out of there, discussed it. They had a therapist sitting there, and I'm saying to my mom, what is she supposed to do for me during this meeting and what also make me angry? I said, your boss didn't even have the audacity, enough respect for me and my family to be here. After he stood in my face and said to me, Ms. Brazell, don't worry. We're going to take this all the way to trial no matter what. I sat outside and cried for hours. I couldn't believe that all the hard work that was done. I'm sure they had so much more that they didn't felt the need to to say let's take it to trial. It's like I told her, I've seen cases go with a little of nothing. It all depends on how you present that evidence to the jury and how strong you are. But I guess my son wasn't worth it.
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Interviewer (Nick)
Well, and with, in this case in particular with, with the individual that would be on trial. Kavon, he's the type of individual, you saw it play out right in front of you with your own eyes. He's the type of individual, if you put him on a stage and give him enough rope, he, he will hang himself.
Desiree Brazell
Exactly.
Interviewer (Nick)
The thing that's so aggravating here, it's, it's, it's a double whammy situation. Right? It's not only have they stopped fighting for Rashawn, they've almost handcuffed you and prevented you from continuing to fight for your son.
Desiree Brazell
That's, that's exactly what they did. That's exactly what they did. It was like, yeah, what's she gonna do like, okay, yeah, she can go on the news and say whatever. And then they had a spokesperson, after I did that interview on the news with Mary Murphy, they had a spokesperson that lied and said, oh, well, Ms. Brazell already knew that this was going to happen. That's a lie. No, I did not know y' all waited to the very last minute to give me that information because I was still under the impression that no matter what you had lost, that y' all was going to go to trial with whatever you had. So I didn't get the opportunity to go back and say, she's a liar. No one. I didn't. I didn't know anything ahead of time. I kept persisting that this goes to trial. I kept persisting, nothing. But this is what I end up with. And like you said, I just felt trapped, my hands tied. And
Interviewer (Nick)
frankly, it's rude on their part, because if they've decided that we're not going to do anything, that we are not going to advance your son's case further through the courts, then when you talk to the news, when you talk to the media, if they've already decided they've given up, they shouldn't even offer up a rebuttal. They shouldn't even put a spokesperson or woman up there to. Or mandate to have a comment on what your comments are. They've decided not to do anything. So sit down and be quiet is my feeling. And. And you, dear, if you want to shout it from the mountaintops, you should. And you. You. You had the unfortunate experience of. Of witnessing this firsthand and witnessing the action and then lack thereof, action by their office. You have every right to say what it is that you experience and what you feel is and what they did or didn't do in your son's case.
Desiree Brazell
And I am so sure. I am so sure, I guarantee you that there's other cases that this DA has done the same way.
Interviewer (Nick)
You're in New York, I'm in Ohio. And unfortunately, I've witnessed cases and spoke to family members in cases that are similar here in Ohio, where it just feels like there is a. Not just a lack of urgency to prosecute, but. But even in some cases, a lack of effort to investigate further. And unfortunately, I've seen. I can count them on up to two hands now, the number of times that I've seen where we have an individual locked up, for one thing, and he's done a bunch of other horrible things, and the powers that be, you go, well, that's good enough. He's behind bars he's going to be there for a long time and that's going to have to be good enough.
Desiree Brazell
And that's what this was here.
Interviewer (Nick)
And I know we've talked about it already quite a bit, but in the early stages, middle stages, and how could your son's. In your opinion, from what you saw, what you experienced, how could your son's case have been handled differently? And is there anything that can be done now?
Desiree Brazell
I feel like whatever evidence that they lost, whatever they needed off of that, that should have been already handled, that should have been already taken care of. And on the side, I felt like in the beginning when they was given certain information, they should have follow through with that information in the beginning. See, the D A office don't realize how much I do know how much the people from the street have talked to me. And I just feel like they didn't, they didn't do it. Like they took everything that Jason did, hand it to them and said, okay, well, yeah, you gave us this, but because we lost whatever it was there, then the other things that you gave us, and it's strong, but we're just not going to do it. It's like they had this attitude of, well, if we lose this case, there would be a loss on our record. I everything that came into their office, they should have followed through with it. In the very beginning, you allow Covid to hit you sat back. I remember reaching out to them and saying to them, I feel like that my son case is going to end up in your draw in your file cabinet and forgotten. And that's just how my son case ended up in a file cabinet filed under dismiss. And that's that everything should have been done differently. And like right now, the only thing that I can hope for, if we get a new DA and I can present once again my son case to a new DA that's sitting there and say, look at this, go back and read this, go back and look at that. And hopefully maybe something could be done. Beings that it never went to trial and there was no verdict, it was just dismissed. But maybe with a new DA sitting there and that new DA said, no, you know what? Going to take the chance and we're going to take this to trial with what we have right here because this was good detective work. Being that it was a cold case, we're going to take all of this and we're going to use it and we're going to see what the jury comes back. And like I said, I would have appreciated that so much because I feel like if a jury had to sit back and heard everything other than this piece of evidence that they lost, I don't know why, but I just feel like a jury would have been like, no, no, we're going to convict. I just goes back to. Like I said, it all is all about how you present what you have, the passionate that you show, and your determination. When it came down to this, the lack of determination sucked. I can tell you, though, there was one person that was sitting in that room with us. I could tell it hurt her to her soul that the person that was handling my son case was sitting over from me, telling me that they was going to dismiss it. And to add insult to injury, you know, they asked me, she emailed me to ask me, or I'm unsure. Are you going to be in court today? Why would I be in court? Why would. Why would I have been there for that if there was just plain disrespect? Even the therapist was sitting there, was looking like. Like, this is all wrong. This is so wrong. But because of the person that had the case, the person under her couldn't speak. And like I told you, you. You let your boss send you in there to do this, which me. And. And she told me, she said, well, I agree with him. We just didn't have enough. And I was like, wow, so everything that Jason had gave y' all wasn't enough, but you didn't have that evidence that you lost. That's not what was presented to the grand jury. And they still indicted him. It all just comes down to, like I said, they decided, okay, we got a guilty verdict on the first trial. Let it be. He's never getting out. And that was their main thing of comfort from them to me, oh, he's never getting out. Don't even worry about it. Go home, relax, forget it. It's done.
Interviewer (Nick)
Well, and the thing here is, your son was good to say, good, upstanding citizen is just the tip of the iceberg. And in some ways, he was a knight in shining armor for some of these people that he was trying to help and people in the area, people that he knew.
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Interviewer (Nick)
The only heroes that you had seemed to come from the cold case squad. And there was no knight in shining armor for you or your family or for Rashawn for that fact from the DA's office. And to me, all this says. And I want to be clear, because somewhere there's going to be somebody listening and they're going to say, nick, hang on. Pump the brakes a little bit.
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Interviewer (Nick)
But I want to be clear. This is a situation that has end up, as you said and as has been reported, as dismissed, your son's case dismissed. It's not. They didn't come to you and say this is pending further evidence or we're going to continue to work this case and continue to build a case against Gavon. Now we can't do anything. We've put our hands up in the air and we go, I don't know, we can't do it. There's nothing left for us to do here. And to me, that, that shows an extreme lack of character on behalf of the district attorney. And it shows. It's a big sign of weakness because as you said earlier, a concern for having a loss on their record. Who cares if you have a loss on your record? The general public, the public that you represent and the families that you represent, the people that want bad people off of the streets, violent, horrible people off of the streets and locked up and put away because they don't deserve to live in our society. The people that want that, they don't care about your losses. Yes, we care about your wins. Rack up some wins. We want wins for the good people, for the citizens. We don't care about the losses. As long as you try.
Desiree Brazell
That's it.
Interviewer (Nick)
Every Sunday, every Sunday, the worst team in the NFL marches out on the field and they may play the best team in the NFL. And you know what? Secretly inside the locker room, they might say themselves, I don't think we have a very good chance of winning today. Do they just pack up and get on the bus and go back home? No, they go out and they play the game and they give it their all and they bust their butts to try to climb that mountain. And David beat Goliath. And here I. It's just. To me, it's just a lack of character. It's a sign of weakness. Nobody cares, man, if you lose, just go out there and try and give it your all. And instead, no, they closed the book and said, we've, we can't, we can't do anything here. So if, when, when they, when they seem to care about losses, guess what? This is a huge loss for them. A huge loss for them.
Desiree Brazell
Well, I can honestly tell you clearly as a fact, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence or however they want to put it. No one came to me and say, oh, but we're going to further investigate. We. We're going to keep digging. None of that my son case ended up just where I Didn't want it to end up in their foul cabinet. Shut. Done. They've moved on, but they're moving on in their mind, saying, oh, but we got that win, that first win. He's in jail for life. So that should cover everything. Ms. Brazell should feel comfortable and happy with the fact that he was never getting out, because that's what her words to me was. Oh, but you don't have to worry. Just keep this in mind. He's never getting out. He. And I'm looking at her like, wow, so this is your way. This is. This is the olive branch that you're handed to me right now. This is. I should be grateful. I should be thankful that he's never getting out and that every time he come up for parole, y' all are going to make sure he never receives it. Okay. Okay. I hope you sleep very well tonight. Okay. All right. Yeah, it's dismissed. As far as they're concerned, that was it. They did. They quit. They did. They quit on me. They quit on my son. It never crossed their mind. There was never a thought in their mind that they victimized me and my family. Just how it was when his life was taken, how we felt. Shattered, lost, no answers, confused. That's how I felt sitting at that table, listening to that. That's how I felt when I read her email, trying to find out, am I going to court? I was so messed up to where I found myself. It was no need. Me sitting at home. Sitting at home was going to do what? Mess with my psyche? I went to work. I helped my clients. I cried coming home the next morning. I just repeated that process. Cried going into work, help my clients, cry coming back home, talk to my husband here, who just talk it out. Just cry. But how much talking can I do when I realize that I've been locked out, it's been shut down. Now I just have to heal myself now. Every Valentine Day, I have to go through a little something. On his birthday, April 15, after going go a little something. You know, I do have bad days. I have days where I wake up and I'd be like, wow, what would he have been doing in his life today? Like, would he have still been working at the hospital? Because days after his death, I got a phone call from a woman that Sean had went through an interview in New York Presbyterian Hospital, just serving food. He got the job. I had to tell her what happened to him. That woman had only met him on an interview, and she cried. She said, no, that's not right. No. And I Said, I'm sorry. And she said, I just met with him. Like, we. She said after the interview, they sat there and talked for hours. She said, like, she had to put, like, say, okay, I gotta get back to work now. And she already knew through her other interviews she was gonna give him the job. She just hung up. That job was right across the street from the men's shelter that I was working at at that time.
Interviewer (Nick)
Desire, I'm so sorry for your loss.
Sponsor Voice
I'm.
Interviewer (Nick)
I so sorry that this. That they didn't. That this wasn't handled differently. I'm sorry that they. The DA has given up the fight. When you never gave you.
Commercial Announcer
You.
Interviewer (Nick)
You had every look beaten down, grieving the way that you had to have been. You had every reason to give up the fight yourself. You didn't. You didn't give up the fight. And they should have never have done so either. Is there anything that we. That we missed or that we didn't. That we didn't talk about that you want to express?
Desiree Brazell
What I would like to make a statement is to anyone that lose a family member to such a violent act, never give up. Just keep trying to fight the good fight. And if it does come down to where your hands are tied, hopefully someone will reach out to you in order for you to be able to say what you need to say, remove some of the anger that you was holding on to because you didn't get what you thought you was going to get. Seek therapy and maybe just start jotting down some notes. And you might look up and be surprised that, you know, you have a little book that you could put out there for people that do go through this and just keep hoping and praying that our system, our justice system in New York. Get some guns.
Narrator
This is one of the most brutal murders in the history of this city. Rashawn's gruesome murder will forever trouble a dedicated detective who retired without solving it and will haunt Rashawn's mother who's had to leave. Live with it every day.
Podcast Host
If you'd like to hang out with us live, we're going to be at CrimeCon UK and CrimeCon USA. Crime Con USA is going to take place in Nashville and CrimeCon UK will be happening in London.
Interviewer (Nick)
And if you want to save some money and you haven't got your tickets yet, use our promo code. It works for both. Both Events UK and Nashville. And that promo code is tcg.
Podcast Host
Thanks for joining us here in the garage until next week.
Interviewer (Nick)
Be good, be kind.
Podcast Host
Don't you litter.
Desiree Brazell
Sam.
True Crime Garage: Interview with Rashawn Brazell's Mother
Podcast Date: March 6, 2024
Host: Nic (True Crime Garage)
Guest: Desiree Brazell (Mother of Rashawn Brazell)
In this deeply personal and emotional episode, True Crime Garage host Nic sits down with Desiree Brazell to discuss the tragic, unsolved murder of her son, Rashawn Brazell. The conversation provides a rare, first-person account of a mother’s search for justice in the face of bureaucratic setbacks, lost evidence, and a legal system that, in Desiree’s view, failed to fight for her son. Desiree reflects on Rashawn’s life, her experiences with law enforcement and the district attorney’s office, and her ongoing efforts to find closure and healing.
Who Rashawn Was
The Last Day
Initial Steps
Lack of Follow-Up
Detective Amato & Jason
Courtroom Trauma
Prosecution Promises & Failures
Loss, Dismissal, and Betrayal
Public Statements and Rebuttals
Systemic Issues
Both Desiree and Nic reflect on similar failures in other cases, where once a perpetrator is locked up for one crime, officials decide “that’s good enough.”
Desiree argues for more diligent evidence handling, consistent follow-through, and trial—no matter the DA’s hesitance about a loss.
Notable Quote:
“It’s all about how you present what you have, the passion that you show, and your determination. ...The lack of determination sucked.” – Desiree Brazell (35:47)
Personal Pain
On Who Rashawn Was (01:13):
“He was just an old soul and always made sure that if he could, he was... willing to help anyone.” – Desiree Brazell
On Being Dismissed by Police (05:24):
“They told me maybe he was just hanging out with his friends... but that wasn’t the type of child he was.” – Desiree Brazell
On Law Enforcement's Focus (08:05):
“I have to be honest, in the beginning of my son case, I did not feel that the detectives... was really working my son case.” – Desiree Brazell
On the Personal Cost of Injustice (13:49):
“He mouthed to me, ‘I love you.’ It took every fiber of my being to not run up and try to choke the life out of him.” – Desiree Brazell
On DA’s Office Letting the Case Go (20:55):
“I feel like if my son was from a different background or a different area, no matter how little evidence you had, you still would have took this to trial.” – Desiree Brazell
On Passion in Prosecution (35:47):
“It’s all about how you present what you have, the passion that you show, and your determination. ...The lack of determination sucked.” – Desiree Brazell
On the Pain of Loss and Dismissal (42:18):
“I should be grateful. I should be thankful that he’s never getting out...That was it. They quit. They did. They quit on me. They quit on my son.” – Desiree Brazell
Desiree’s Message to Other Families (47:38):
“Never give up. Just keep trying to fight the good fight. ...Seek therapy and maybe just start jotting down some notes...just keep hoping and praying that our system...gets some guts.” – Desiree Brazell
This episode is a frank, moving look at the aftermath of violent loss and institutional failure. Desiree’s unwavering commitment to her son’s memory, and her candid criticism of the systemic flaws she encountered, shine through the entire conversation. The episode not only personalizes the pain behind headlines but serves as a call for accountability, thoroughness, and empathy within the justice system.
For further resources, memorial contributions, or to support families of victims, please seek out relevant local organizations and always remember to keep these stories, and the calls for justice, alive.