Vigil remembers slain man on 21st birthday in Elgin

They stood in an Elgin fast food parking lot and sang "Happy Birthday" holding candles that flickered in the dark night. At the center, a young man celebrating his 21st birthday without his twin, who was shot and pretty much died there nearly six months ago.

Devon Turner said he misses his brother, Devonte, every day, all the time. The two shared a room and even slept in the same bed their whole lives, and knew each other so well they didn't need words to communicate. "We were best friends," he said. "I'll never get nothing else like him."

The vigil for Devonte Wednesday night outside Wendy's off McLean Boulevard was organized by the twins' mother, Dorothy Turner of Aurora. His murder remains unsolved. "I felt overwhelmed. I felt a lot of support," she said. "It's been six months of living a nightmare."

To her, it feels like she died twice, she said. Once at 9:05 p.m. April 30 when a bullet ripped through Devonte's skull as he and his friend, Jerwin Suarez, were inside Suarez's car in the Buena Vista apartment complex - also known as "The Mills" - down the street from the restaurant. The second time, when Devonte's heart stopped beating at 11:52 p.m. at the hospital.

Suarez, of Elgin, was among the 30 or so people who attended the vigil. He was reluctant to talk about what happened that night, other than to say they had stopped by the apartment complex to pick up work boots before starting their shift at a factory in Elgin. After he realized Devonte was shot, he pulled over in the parking lot, he said.

"It happened so fast," he said. "We were like brothers. That's a bond that will always be there, no matter what."

Some of those who attended the vigil didn't know Devonte but wanted to show support for the Turners. "It just breaks my heart," said Eric Rubin of Elgin. "I have two young boys and I imagine what this would be like. How can I not relate to that?"

Devonte was an outgoing guy who liked to make people laugh, his relatives and friends said. "He was a loving, caring person. Playful, very respectful," Dorothy Turner said. "He loved his nieces. He was a family person."

He liked to rap, roller skate and cook, especially chorizo and eggs, sister Lashay Turner said. "It feels weird that he's not here. I still look at his brother, and it's like he's here."

Born in Elgin, the siblings grew up in Gurnee and in 2012 moved back to Elgin, where the twins attended Larkin High School. A year later they moved to Aurora, where they attended East Aurora High School.

The family lived in Warrenville at the time of his death, but moved to Aurora in July because there were too many painful memories in the old apartment, said Dorothy Turner, adding she reverted to her maiden name from her married name, Dorothy Gross, to feel more connected to her son.

Elgin police continue to investigate the murder but there have been no breaks, Cmdr. Colin Fleury said. Dorothy Turner started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a reward for tips leading to an arrest.

Police have no reason to believe the murder was gang-related, although Devonte was known to Elgin police, Fleury said.

Court records show he was arrested in 2013 in Elgin on misdemeanor charge of possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card, and plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless conduct. Dorothy Turner said her son took the rap for the gun's owner, who had a criminal record.

These days, Dorothy Turner has a routine: she takes her daughter and granddaughter to work and school in the morning, and heads to Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin to spend a few hours by her son's grave. Then she goes home and pores through memories of Devonte - cellphone photos, the video of his funeral, even the hospital report - until it's time to pick up the girls.

"This is my life now," she said. "I have no life no more."

She said she cried only once, about two weeks ago, thinking about the twins' birthday, but it was mostly tears of rage. She'll cry when Devonte's killer is found and convicted, she says.

Allowing herself to feel the enormity of the pain is frightening, she acknowledged. "Yeah, it scares me," she said. "Would I lose my mind? Would I go insane? Would I never come back?"

Meanwhile, she posts everyday on Facebook, asking people to come forward with information, reminding them that her son's life mattered.

"Everyday you're going to read it. You're going to see it. You're going to see my pain or hurt. You're going to see my anger," she said. "You're going to see everything."