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When you talk to people who knew Eric Nelms, they
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don't start with how he died. They start with how
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he lived. They talk about his laughter, his kindness, his
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love for family, and the way he looked out for
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everyone around him. He was a soldier, a father, a brother,
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an uncle, and a friend, and someone who carried joy
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into every room he entered.
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But on a quiet morning in Phoenix City, Alabama, that
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joy was stolen from everyone who loved him. Eric was
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shot and killed in his own driveway before the sun
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came up, and more than twenty years later, no one
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has been held accountable.
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Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas
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true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal
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with to meck violence, as well as missing persons and
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unsolved cases. I'm your host Sean.
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And I'm your co host John.
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Welcome to our one hundredth episode, and we just really
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want to extend our deepest Thanks to all of our
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listeners and subscribers, especially those who have supported us from
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the beginning. Everything you've done for us means so much
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to us. Both this week, we are bringing you the
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story of an unsolved murder from Alabama. This story is
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outside of what we normally cover on the podcast, but
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it's deeply connected to our mission and purpose, which is
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to raise awareness and help families. We've mentioned before how
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we've had the opportunity to meet with families and survivors
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at conventions, and we've connected with this family a few times.
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Thanks to assistance from true crime researcher Haley Gray, we
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are bringing you the story of the murder of Eric Nelms.
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For this episode, Hailey was assisted by Beth Whites, and
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a lot of this information comes straight from Eric's family.
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His sister Kathy, who we've met and spoken to several times,
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and his mother Annie, who we've also met as well
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as other family members. And Annie are so genuine and
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so warm, and Kathy speaks about Eric with this mix
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of pride and heartbreak that stays with you. Like so
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many families, they are on a journey to get answers
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and justice, and we want to walk with them on
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that journey and do what we can to spread the
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word about what happened to Eric. Las Vegas is such
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a transient place, you just never know who's listening and
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who might be the lead that solves this case.
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First, before we dive into the case, though, we have
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three similar recent missing person cases to share this week.
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These three cases are all recent cases of missing teenagers
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around the same age, but they're all very short on details.
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For two of the missing teens, we have photos we'll
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share on our social media and will also create short
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links to their nameus missing person pages, and of course
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you can find the full list of missing persons being
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maintained by Metro at sinspod dot co slash Metro missing.
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The first case is a fifteen year old missing teenage
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girl named Fajar Chowdri. She was last seen on March
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thirty first, twenty twenty three, here in Las Vegas. She
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apparently ran away from home. She is seventeen years old today.
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She is five foot two and was one hundred and
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thirty pounds at the time of her disappearance, though of
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course she would probably be taller now. She's listed as
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Native American or Alaska Native, with black hair and brown eyes.
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Her short link would be sinspod dot Co slash Fajar Fajar.
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The next one is Joshua Tolbert, who was thirteen years
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old at his disappearance and he would be fifteen years
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old today. He was last seen at his home on
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February ninth, twenty twenty three, near Bonanza and Bruce in
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North Las Vegas. He is African American with brown eyes
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and brown hair. He's five foot seven and one hundred
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and seventy one pounds, and he is another runaway. His
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link would be sinspod dot Co slash Joshua. The last
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one is the one we don't have a photo for.
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It's a boy named Goldie Williams. He was last seen
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October twelfth, twenty twenty two, here in Las Vegas. Another runaway.
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He was fifteen years old when he disappeared or ran away,
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and he'd be eighteen now at the time. He was
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six foot three and one hundred and sixty pounds. Another
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African American with brown hair, and unfortunately we don't have
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a photo like I said for him, but his link
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on NamUs is sinspod dot co slash Goldie. If you
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have any information on any of these missing teens, please
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reach out to Metro at seven oh two eight two
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eight three one one one or Nevada Child Seekers at
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seven oh two four five eight seven zero zero nine.
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This is a much longer shot, but if you happen
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to be a runaway or exploited teen between the ages
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of twelve and twenty one or one of these three
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teenagers and you're hearing this, you can call the National
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Runaway Safe Line for help at one eight hundred Runaway
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which is eight hundred seven eight six two nine two nine,
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and you can also find them on Instagram at one
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eight hundred Runaway. They can provide resources for you. They
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have trained volunteers and staff that will give you judgment
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free support and can help you make a plan to
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ensure your safety. The Home Free program they run in
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association with Greyhound Buses can help reunite homeless or exploited
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youth with their families or guardians with free bus tickets
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home or to a safe living situation, and it's meant
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to highlight issues facing runaway and homeless youth and remind
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these kids that they aren't invisible and they aren't alone.
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Four point two million youths from ages twelve to twenty
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five experience homelessness every year, and it's a crisis that
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no one talks about.
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As John said, we'll post these missing youth pictures on
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our social media and we continue to post and share
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stories of missing people from the Las Vegas area. So
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make sure that you're following us on Instagram and Facebook
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at Sins and Survivors. So onto our main story this week.
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Eric Nelms Eric was born on June tenth, nineteen seventy one.
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He was his mom, Annie's youngest. We mentioned his older
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sister Kathy, and the two of them were very close
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in age and were best friends. They grew up together
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in Columbus, Georgia, which is right on the border of
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Alabama and Georgia. It's about an hour and a half
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drive from Atlanta. One of the most interesting things I
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learned about Eric is that he was part of a
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very large, blended family that grew and changed throughout his life,
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and technically, due to marriages, he had fifteen siblings. However,
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he and Kathy considered each other to be the only
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true siblings since they grew up together. Annie says that
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when he was a kid, Eric was smart, respectful, friendly,
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and helpful. He loved large family gatherings, parties and cookouts,
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and playing with other kids. It's often mentioned by friends
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and family that Eric was small in stature but huge
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in personality. As a little boy. When they'd visit their grandmother,
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Eric would walk around with his chest out, grinning and
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waving like a mayor greeting his town. One story from
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their childhood that Kathy has shared was that when they
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were younger, Eric played baseball. Kathy said, everyone thought he
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was so little, but once they saw him out there,
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they were in awe. Their initial opinion was that he
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was too little, but he proved himself.
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Family was everything to him. He was always the life
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of the party, and naturally he loved Christmas, the food,
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the laughter, the dancing, and spending time with friends and
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family altogether. Eric was a born leader and very charismatic.
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He carried that same energy all throughout his life. He
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was the kind of person people wanted to be around.
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Kathy said that wherever they went, people were always happy
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to see him. He was generous in giving with his family, friends,
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and even with strangers. His mom, Annie recalled that once
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he bought a woman shoes just because she needed them.
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But that was Eric seeing someone in need and quietly
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fixing it. He was a Georgia sports fanatic too. He
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loved the Bulldogs, the Falcons, the Braves. If the team
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was from his home state, he cheered for them, and
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even as a kid, he had a sense of stuffle.
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Kathy would help him pick out his clothes and he'd
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finish every outfit with a hat. He'd carry himself with
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so much confidence, she said, even though he was short,
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he was the man.
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Here is something that John and Eric have in common.
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Eric was always interested in electronics and like tinkering with
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things to find out how they worked. Kathy remembers that
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when they were children, they got an Atari game console,
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which was the hot toy that year, and this was
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a big deal Christmas gift, and Eric was so intrigued
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by it that he just had to take it apart
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to see how it worked. Kathy walked into the room
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and told him, Mom's going to kill you, but he
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just smiled, put it back together and somehow I had
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worked perfectly.
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I never pulled my Atari apart, but I definitely got one,
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probably around that same year. Since he and I are
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around the same age. After graduating from Carver High School
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in nineteen eighty nine, he wanted to turn that curiosity
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into a career. He enrolled the Devrai University in Atlanta
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to study computers and electronics, but money was tight and
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tuition was steep. Eventually he had to make a hard
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choice and find another path forward. That's when Eric decided
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to join the army. It was a practical choice and
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it really suited him. A guy who was disciplined, brave,
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and determined to make his family proud. He was stationed
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all over Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Fort Benning and Georgia,
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Fort Campbell in Kentucky, and even in Germany. He also
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served in the Persian Gulf War. Like so much of
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Eric's life, he excelled in the military and earned multiple
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commendations for his service. His mommy and he told WTVM
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news that he received several medals while enlisted. While he
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was stationed at Fort Benning, he joined the Airborne School.
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Since nineteen eighteen, Fort Benning has been one of the
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toughest and most respected infantry training centers in the country.
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Graduates of that Airborne School aren't just soldiers, they're paratroopers
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trained to jump out of planes and into combat zones.
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That kind of training builds not just physical endurance, but
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also courage. I learned that as part of the graduation ceremony,
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the graduates parachute out of a plane. Kathy still remembers
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standing in the crowd the day her brother graduated. When
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she saw him float down under a parachute, she thought, Wow,
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you're an awesome person. When he received his beret, she
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hugged him and told him how proud she was for
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all he'd accomplished.
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Even among his fellow soldiers, Eric stood out. People gravitated
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toward him, and that same warmth and confidence that he
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always had. After his death, some of those men reached
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out to Kathy and Annie just to tell them how
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much Eric had meant to them. They said he wasn't
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just a good soldier, he was a good man. After
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Eric left the army, he worked as a forklift driver
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at Kodak Polychrome in Columbus, Georgia, and his life was
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centered around family. In nineteen ninety four, he got married
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for the first time, and not long after they welcomed
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a son, Antonio. Eric loved being a father even after
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the marriage ended in nineteen ninety nine. He made every
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effort to stay involved in his son's life. Antonio lived
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with his mother in Kentucky, but Eric drove up whenever
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he could. He didn't let this her money stop him
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from being there for his boy. A few years later,
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Eric married again. His second wife, Mollie, already had two
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children from a previous relationship, and together they built a
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blended family in Phoenix City, Alabama, right across the Chattahoochee
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River from Columbus, where Kathy lived. Eric and Molly bought
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a home in the middle of a cul de sac
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on Level Court in the Carpenter's Way subdivision. Eric saw
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his sister Kathy often. She was a single mom with
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two little ones and work nights at a hospital, usually
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running on fumes. Eric would come over, make coffee, play
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with the kids, and help out around the house without
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being asked. Cathy said that speaks to his character because
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I didn't have to ask. He just did it automatically.
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He was a kind of man who noticed when people
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needed help and just took care of it. Her kids
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adored him, but he had a special bond with her
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daughter to Kia, to her, Eric was more than an uncle.
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She told Project Cold Case that he was a positive
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role model and father figure to me. He always showed
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up for us and was very involved. She still talks
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about how he talked her how to dance, to cook,
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and how to carry herself with confidence. At a cousin's wedding,
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Eric was, as always the life of the reception, dancing
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for hours while the whole family circled around him, clapping
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and laughing. They all treasured this memory and it captures
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exactly who he was.
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Takia said that when she was with him, she carried
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herself differently. She said he always walked with his head
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held high, and being near him made her want to
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do the same. He modeled confidence. That influence extended to
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Kathy's son, Vincent too. He remembers Eric as the guy
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everyone in the family looked up to. He was the
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kind of guy that would show up no matter what.
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If someone needed help moving, he was there. If a