Semper Fi: More Than A Motto – The Story of Troy Mitchell
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On October 28, 2009, in the parking lot of Guardian Courts Apartments in west Jackson, the Hub City saw its twelfth murder of the year. But this case proved much more than a number. Murdered that day was Troy Mitchell, 44, of Medon. “Part of me is gone. I mean part of me was ripped away [that day],” said Kelly Mitchell, Troy’s wife of nearly 25 years. For the first time since his death, Kelly is talking publicly about the day her husband was killed. For almost a year and a half she was silent as she awaited the trials of the two men charged in Troy’s death. Now, with both men convicted and sentenced she is sharing her story. Troy, a Jackson locksmith known for helping anyone, even those in the city’s more dangerous areas, was shot once in the face while working on a car. His cell phone and wallet were stolen. Kelly recalled the first time she saw him in the hospital. “When I saw him he was unconscious,” she remembered. “But he just looked like he was sleeping.” For the next 24 hours a wife would be caught between hope and reality and their second oldest of seven sons was in a race against time to make it home from Iraq. “Ren wanted to be there so badly to say goodbye to his father,” said Kelly. It was in his death that even strangers began to realize Troy was no ordinary man. In a split second, the community lost a decorated war hero, businessman, father and husband, all titles that did little to sum up exactly who Troy really was. Even Kelly says she too, in the midst of seeing him change diapers and hunt for the remote control, lost sight of all that her husband did and was. “I forgot sometimes really how much he did to serve his country and the Marine Corps and just serving God, maybe not so much with words but with his life.” Coming up on ABC 7 Eyewitness News at 10, hear what Kelly has to say about the two men who are now sentenced to life for her husband’s murder. And throughout our stories, we’ll take a closer look at exactly why Troy Mitchell really was a hero and how he continues to serve others even in death. Join us for “Semper Fi: More Than A Motto” starting Tuesday night on ABC 7 Eyewitness News at 10.
