TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) — Twelve years after 22-year-old Jessie James “Bam” Harris II was shot and killed at his home, his family is making one final push for answers, putting up a personal $5,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.

Kim Espinoza, Harris’ mother, has spent over a decade wondering what happened to her son, who was killed on August 18, 2014, on Timmons Drive in Tifton. With his birthday and the anniversary of his death passing this week, the emotional weight of his unsolved murder has driven Espinoza and her husband to offer up everything they can.

“I just feel like I’ve got to give it one more shot for him to try to see, to reinvestigate it,” Espinoza said. “Getting older, having health issues... I’m afraid of dying and not knowing answers. I try to keep it in God’s hands, but I’m still human. I’m still a mom.”

A Cold Case and a Knock at the Door

The investigation into Harris’ death eventually went cold a development Espinoza says she only discovered when someone else happened to find out and tell her. When a case is classified as a cold case, it means investigators have exhausted all active leads.

“It’s like a stab to the heart a little bit,” Espinoza said of the classification. “But I still got some little hope with the way the world’s changing, technology and everything’s changing.”

Compounding the difficulty for investigators, the house where Harris was killed was torn down about a year after the shooting, taking any potential physical evidence with it.

Despite the lost physical evidence, Espinoza strongly believes her son was killed by someone he knew.

Harris was shot around 11 p.m. after answering a knock at his door. Espinoza says her son would never have opened his door that late at night to a stranger. Furthermore, his pit bull, who was inside the home with him, did not attack the visitor.

“The dog had to know who it was, too,” Espinoza said. “It had to be someone that was, that’s been there before, someone they knew.”

“Begging as a mom”

The family hopes the $5,000 reward will incentivize someone with long-held secrets to finally speak up. For Espinoza, the fight for answers is about securing closure for her entire family, including Harris’ son.

“My grandson deserves answers, which is my son’s son,” Espinoza said. “My husband and I decided to put up some money to see if we can help get people involved or somebody come forward. $5,000 is what we’re offering. That’s about all we can offer right now.”

As she begs the community for help, Espinoza also hopes her family’s pain highlights a broader national crisis.

“I’m just begging as a mom. I’m trying to fight, help my family fight for answers,” Espinoza said. “There’s a lot of gun violence going on around our country. It’s just not my son’s problem. There’s too much going on these days. It’s not worth taking somebody else’s life.”

Anyone with information regarding the 2014 shooting of Jessie James Harris II is urged to contact local law enforcement or reach out to the family at [email protected]

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