JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local family will try to celebrate Thanksgiving next week with an empty seat at the table. Shane Payne, a father of six, was shot and killed inside his home in August.
It’s been three months since the 32-year-old was murdered and family members are still looking for answers, praying that whoever killed their loved one is brought to justice.
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“Every day has been a struggle trying to maintain my sanity,” Shane Payne’s mother Phyllis Payne said.
The father of six was gunned down inside his home on Sandle drive in Northwest Jacksonville, and his mother Phyllis Payne said all of his kids were home at the time.
“They said someone kept throwing rocks at the door, my older grandson answered, went to look to see what’s going on and that’s when the masked man came in the house with a gun towards him and forced his way in,” she said.
Phyllis Payne said her son was asleep when this happened and that his significant other had already left for work.
“Don’t know who to trust because we feel like someone set him up,” she said.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, they said it won’t be the same.
“I’m that house everyone wants to come to, my son’s presence has always been a blessing to us and we will not have that,” she said.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told Action News Jax the case is still an active investigation, saying if any further information is released, they’ll get it to us.
Crime Stoppers told Action News Jax in the last three months they’ve only received one tip about the case, and the family is hoping it doesn’t go cold.
“We as a family is going to continue, until the day I die, to find out who did this to my son because he did not deserve this,” Payne said.
Payne said the kids are traumatized but trying to stay strong, saying she can’t think of anyone who would want to do something like this crime. While it’s been tough, she says they’re a strong family. If you know anything about this, call the police or you can remain anonymous by going through Crime Stoppers.
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