‘Haven’t given up’: Huntersville family desperate for closure years after son’s killing

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A family is desperate for closure nearly 12 years after their 19-year-old son was killed in Huntersville. The case is just one of two unsolved homicides in the town’s history.

Only Channel 9’s Erika Jackson spoke with the family this week, and the police chief in Huntersville added that even though this is a cold case, detectives are still actively working on leads.

Homicides here in Huntersville are rare, and the police chief says, this was not a random act of violence.

These days, pictures of Peter Jordan bring joy to his mom, Carolyn Averill, and his stepdad, Craig.

“We could remember his smile, his laughter, and that’s how we remember him -- his happiness,” said Carolyn Averill, Jordan’s mother

The family says there’s been fewer smiles in their home – ever since Jordan was shot to death on February 19, 2014.

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Police say he was visiting a friend at “the landings” apartment complex when he was killed. Nearly 12 years later, his case remains unsolved.

“At the beginning when this happened, it was minute by minute waiting for an answer, and as the time passed, it became more numbing. And we haven’t given up hope, but we can, you know, we continue to think that eventually this will be solved,” said Craig Averill, Jordan’s stepfather

“We found out about it by somebody seeing it on Facebook and contacting us. And so it was a shock, because Peter was never in bad company or policed himself in a dangerous situation,” Carolyn said.

Detectives say they interviewed multiple witnesses, some cooperative, some uncooperative. But no arrests have been made.

Chief Brian Vaughan says the department put a new detective on the case to give it a fresh set of eyes.

Jordan’s mom hopes a $14,000 reward for information will push someone to come forward and give her closure.

“It will never bring Peter back, but if we don’t stop it, they will hurt other families and cause them grief and pain like they have done to us,” Carolyn said.

The Huntersville Police Department says this case is hard to solve – because detectives believe there were no eyewitnesses. The victim and suspect were the only people to see what happened.

But if you do know anything, call CrimeStoppers at 704-896-7867.

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