He disappeared the next day, and was missing for nearly a week before his body was located on Melvin Drive in Cahokia Heights. The 19-year-old had been shot to death.
“He was a good person, a brother, a cousin, a nephew. He was athletic and respectful,” said Daniel’s mother said. “He was loved by a lot of people. And, above all, he was a human being who had life. No-one has the right to take his life but God.”
No arrests have been announced in the case.
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis was activated over the weekend to investigate the slaying. Daniel Nunn-Watson had has been shot near Melvin Drive and Lazarcheff Drive, where his body was found, a Major Case Squad release states.
St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. identified Nunn-Watson and said he died from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene in the 100 block of Melvin at 12:50 p.m. Saturday, Dye said.
Nunn-Watson was last seen by a family member on Monday, March 18.
After his disappearance, his family filed a missing person report and began passing out flyers in an attempt to locate him.
Angelina Nunn-Watson and the youth’s father, Lee Watson II, were distributing fliers when they heard some people talking, and that’s how they learned their son was dead.
” We didn’t expect this outcome,” his mother said. She said it was like “a really bad nightmare. We can’t believe this is real.”
The family is leaving the investigation of Daniel’s death in police hands. “The police are investigating it,” she said.
In the meantime, they are asking for members of the public to speak up if they know anything about his death.
Daniel was friendly, `never saw bad in anyone’
Daniel turned 19 in February. He was an avid sports fan since he was 5 years old and participated in multiple sports, including baseball and track.
He had two sisters and a brother.
Daniel attended Cahokia Heights High School and was planning to earn his GED at the time of his death. He still had a few tests to take, his father said.
Daniel and his father also were working together to fill out forms for Job Corps. ”That’s the last time I got to talk with my son,” an emotional Watson told a BND reporter.
Job Corps is a residential career training program that helps young people get their GED, vocational training for a career and obtain employment. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We were about to sign him up for Job Corps. That was a month-long wait,” Watson said. “ That was the plans he had. He had a future and somebody took that from us.”
Watson described his son as outgoing and high energy. His living area was always clean and tidy.
“If you needed anything done, he would do it in a hurry,” he said. “ He didn’t sigh or give any indications that he did not want to do it. Whatever you asked him to do, he did it without hesitation. He honored his mother and father.”
His mother agreed. She described Daniel as friendly and trusting.
“He put his trust in everybody,” Nunn-Watson said. “ He always saw good in everybody. He never saw bad in anyone. That was one of his weaknesses.”
His father said he told Daniel “nobody loves you like your family.”
“I told him when he stepped outside of his family’s yard, nobody loved him the same ,” Watson said.
The pain of Daniel’s death cuts deep for both parents.
“ I am going to miss having my son around,” Watson managed to say through his pain and emotion. “I am going to miss talking and sharing life, the obstacles and challenges in it, the joy and happiness, the right road to choose, the wrong road to stay away from, just everything a father can share with his kids. I won’t have that chance anymore and it really hurts.”
Daniel’s mother said through tears that Daniel’s death just doesn’t make sense. “It shouldn’t be that much hate for somebody’s life,” Nunn-Watson said.
She’ll miss so much about her son. “ I am going to miss him calling me, saying ‘Momma I love you,’ and ‘Hey Momma,whatcha doin? I’m hungry’
“No parent wants to bury their child,” she said.
Daniel’s parents said Daniel respected his elders. “We kept our children busy,” Nunn-Watson said.
She said her son was on the right path. “ He was getting himself together. He had a contribution to make to the world. Now, any dream he had is gone,” she said.
Nunn-Watson’s message to young people is: “Put these guns down. Stop the violence”.
Authorities have asked the public to contact the Cahokia Heights Police Department at 618-337-4277 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477) with any information about the case.