John Eugene Ford, 32, of Lake Cherokee, Texas, was killed on June 4, 1984. His death was later tied to a string of drug-related murders in East Texas carried out from April to June 1984 by Alvin Andrew Kelly and accomplices. Kelly, who worked as a debt collector for drug trafficker Walter WW Shannon, targeted people perceived as threats to Shannon’s trafficking operation; victims in the spree included Ford and, in other incidents, two reserve marshals and their infant son.

Ford was shot and killed during the attack on June 4. Authorities subsequently investigated the killings as connected acts in a larger criminal campaign. Kelly was captured on March 31, 1990, charged with multiple counts including capital murder, and was later convicted and sentenced to death; his execution by lethal injection occurred on October 14, 2008.

Are there witnesses, neighbors, or family members who remember Ford or his life in Lake Cherokee and can add details about him or what happened that day?