January 2022 | Issue #1
Case of Raleigh man shot on his way
to work added to our cold case files

It was early and still dark the morning of October 7, 2019 as Christopher Lamont Guyton stepped out his front door in a Raleigh neighborhood and began the short walk to his car. The time was minutes after 5 a.m. and he was headed to work from his house on East Hickory Bluff.

Before he could take more than three or four steps shots rang out — as many as 10, neighbors later would tell police. After a few moments of silence, there followed agonized screams as Guyton’s girlfriend and the mother of his young son, came out to find him. He died shortly before police and paramedics could arrive.
           
Detectives have been able to uncover few details on this cold case homicide, including how many shooters were involved. They have asked for the public’s help identifying suspects.

Guyton, by all accounts, had no enemies and was well liked. His son was only a year old. Said his uncle, Orko Guyton, to a reporter in 2019: “I can accept an accident. I can accept natural causes. But for someone to take someone’s life, for any reason, I am beyond angry.”

Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppes at 528-CASH (2274). A person also can call the Memphis Police Department’s Cold Case Hotline at (901) 636-2653 and leave a voice mail message. An Investigator will call you back as soon as possible.
           
Tips also can be submitted by text or secure email. To check how click here.
           
It is rare when explicit fingerprints of a suspect are found at a crime scene. 
New evidence or re-examination
of old evidence can heat up a cold case
 
When an active criminal case comes to a standstill, a cold case is born.
The reasons are many and varied. Perhaps witnesses have disappeared. Or few clues were found from the beginning of the crime, and leads have trickled to zero. Whatever the reason, investigators have hit a brick wall and the file must be passed on for a new set of investigative hands and eyes to handle.

Periodically, such cases are reviewed, especially if any potential new information becomes available. This may be a tip, or it could be that new technology has provided additional information on original case evidence.
           
Any new information can heat up a cold case file. Detectives will give priority to cases in which new witnesses or evidence may become available to identify suspects, old witnesses who couldn’t be located now are found and can be interviewed, or preserved evidence can be process and analyzed through newer technology.
           
Sometimes, re-examining existing clues and evidence can be the spark needed to find a solution to a murder or other felony crime.
Make a donation here and help CrimeStoppers help the MPD's Cold Case Unit.