'We need closure:' Family shares plea after beloved, former Horlick High School athlete killed

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) – Loved ones are remembering a former Horlick High School basketball player who was killed in Racine on Saturday, Oct. 17. 

Police say 20-year-old Marcus Caldwell was shot and killed near Yout and Geneva around 7:50 p.m.

No arrests have been made. 

The emotions are plentiful and they are heavy.

“I miss my brother; he didn’t do no wrong," Marquajha Caldwell, his sister, said.

A beloved son, brother and young father taken way before his time.

“They just took my baby from me and I just don’t know why they took him from me. He didn’t deserve this," Veronica McMorris, his mother, said.

A memorial is now set up on a lawn near Yout and Geveva.

The morning after Marcus was shot, his family said was supposed to fly out to North Dakota for a new job.

He was also looking into attending college and playing basketball there. 

“He didn’t do nothing to nobody. All he wanted to do was enjoy life. It just doesn’t make sense. Whoever did this, they gotta pay," his sister said.

Those who knew Marcus say basketball was his life.

“If it was a little snow on the ground, and you ain’t slipping and falling, he was still going to play basketball," his mother explained.

And he excelled as a star player, and a captain, at Horlick.

He had also coached youth basketball in the city.

His varsity coach, Jason Treutelaar, said Caldwell inspired so many, and even grew close to his own family.

Treutelaar shared a touching tribute in honor of Caldwell on his Facebook page, remembering him for his great heart.

“And unfortunately, that’s what makes this even that much more difficult is trying to explain that my children, especially my nine-year-old son who remembers him very well, still asks about him, Treutelaar said.

Caldwell also leaves behind a five-year-old daughter, who his sister said he adored.

“He did everything for her," she explained. "He made sure, every morning, she was on that computer for school, taking her to school, walking her to her bus stop, dropping her off, making sure that she was well loved by him."

And now, his family just wants answers.

“You took my soul, took my heart. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t do anything. So please, I just ask you to turn yourself in. We do not hate you, we just need closure," his mother said.

Racine police ask anyone with information on this homicide to contact 262-635-7756. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 262-636-9330.