What Happened to DeAndre Matthews? Family of Brooklyn Teen Wants Answers After Body Found on Train Tracks

The family of DeAndre Matthews is mourning after the 19-year-old’s body was found on train tracks in Brooklyn, NY.

ABC News reported the victim’s mother, Danielle Matthews, believes her son was killed because he was gay. Matthews said the last time she heard from her son was on Feb. 7, after he asked to borrow the family’s SUV.

DeAndre drove off approximately around 5:45pm.

“I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m lost. That was my first child. He was my first true love. He taught me how to be a mother,” Matthews said. “So, to them killers, they have no idea what they did.”

Using her GPS tracker, Matthews found the truck and when she opened the door, smoke was coming out. Hours later, police responded to a body found on freight train tracks in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, a few miles away from where the SUV was found. The body was identified as DeAndre Matthews. A medical examiner revealed the victim died from a gunshot wound to the head and smoke inhalation.They also discovered several burns on his body.

While the investigation is still ongoing and no arrests have been made, the family is pleading for the killer to come forward. “I want to know why the killer did it. What was the reason? DeAndre wasn’t a violent person,” Deandre’s sister, Dajanae Gillespie, said to NBC 4. “This wasn’t for retaliation. He wasn’t in the streets.”

The family described DeAndre as a non-violent, hardworking kid. According to the owner, Jeremy Moskowitz, he worked at BUGGY service center TLC, a car rental company, where he was well-liked by coworkers. He also was a student at SUNY Broome Community College, studying criminal justice.

Wanting to always help people, his mother believes he met his killer online, as he frequently met friends on there. “DeAndre is so gullible. My baby trusted everybody and I hate that about him,” Matthews said. “DeAndre thought nobody would harm him.”