James S. Tilson, 27, of Rockford, Illinois, was found dead in a tan Buick on Crandall Avenue on May 4, 2014. He had been shot several times while seated in the vehicle, which was partially backed into the front yard of a vacant home. The autopsy listed multiple gunshot wounds as the cause of death.

The investigation named 33-year-old Willie B. Burnett Jr., also of Rockford, who was arrested after an unrelated weapons charge and later charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Burnett and Tilson had driven together to the location where Tilson was shot. Burnett claimed self-defense; he was convicted of first-degree murder and in 2016 received a 65-year prison sentence that included additional time for using a firearm during the commission of the crime and for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.

Tilson is remembered as a father to three daughters and an aspiring music producer. Does anyone have information about Tilson’s last movements or the events that led to that car being left in the vacant yard?