It’s been nearly six months since a 22-year-old was stabbed and killed on Madison Avenue in Albany, just steps from his grandmother’s home. Now she’s calling for justice, as police have yet to make an arrest.

What You Need To Know

  • Maurice Skeen was stabbed and killed outside his grandmother's home on Madison Avenue in March

  • Police have not yet made an arrest, and his grandmother is looking for justice

  • Albany Police say the investigation is open and ongoing, and they say they are confident they will hold someone accountable

Tracy Coleman’s home is the heartbeat of her family. It’s a place where they all come to gather. But it’s now the same place where her grandson, Maurice Skeen, was killed just a few months ago.

"When everything happened, he said, 'Just take it away from here. I’ll meet you anywhere, just not in front of my grandma’s house,' " recalls Coleman.

Coleman received custody of Maurice when he was just five years old. She raised him to be a student, an athlete, and recently, a rapper. She said his first love was basketball, and then he found music.

"He was too good for this life; he was too good for this world. And God placed that baby in my life, and all he did was make it better," said Coleman. "I never heard anyone say they didn’t like him, or he had beef in the streets with people that didn’t like him. That wasn’t him. He wasn’t that kid."

But the house built on love became a place of grief when the 22-year-old’s life was cut short.

"I don’t have my baby to walk past my bedroom every morning, and to come in and kiss me and say 'Gram, you OK? Do you need anything?' He hasn’t said that to me since March," Coleman said. "It’s not fair."

Coleman says a huge brawl broke out on March 18. She recalled dozens of people coming to her home, looking to fight over a social media post made by another family member. Maurice was then stabbed and killed during the chaos.

"Family was always first for him, and he died protecting family," she said.

Coleman held his hand and sat beside him as he laid on the sidewalk, with a stab wound to his chest.

"Every day I go outside that door, all I see is me holding his hand," she explains, looking out the front gate of her alley.

A memorial burns every day outside Coleman’s home. An arrest has yet to be made according to Albany police, even though the family believes they know who did it, and wants to see charges.

"The person or the persons who did this didn’t hate him, they didn’t know him to hate him. But they’re still walking around enjoying their life, with no consequences. It’s not fair," she said.

Albany police say the investigation is still open, and they’re confident they’ll hold the person who did it accountable.

Next to the memorial for her grandson, Coleman says she is tired of waiting.

"I love the Albany police. I never not saw them do their job. I never had a negative experience with them … but they failed me. They failed Maurice," she said.