COLD CASE: Who killed Joey Smith?

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green Police Department is still working on a case from more than eight years ago.

The case involves a young man who was killed and found in the trunk of a vehicle.

His killer has not yet been identified.

He loved everybody and everybody loved him. That is the way Joey Smith’s family described him.

“Joey was silly. Joey loved to have fun. He lived life to the fullest. Like, for his birthday, he would celebrate for the whole month. He enjoyed being around people. He was a people person,” said Latoia Smith.

On Nov. 10, 2012, Joey’s body was found in the trunk of his own car that was parked at an apartment complex.

He had been shot to death after having been missing for two days.

“It became pretty evident pretty quickly that he had not been killed in the parking lot of the apartment complex on Byrant Way. So then where did this take place? It would lead us to believe that the murder took place inside the vehicle due to the evidence that we could see there,” said Ronnie Ward, Public Information Officer with the BGPD.

“We just jumped in my car and raced out there to try to see if his car was out there and I am glad that the police did beat us out there because … I am just glad that she didn’t see him like that,” said Latoia Smith.

Officials have investigated the homicide thoroughly for years, but so far, no suspect has been named in the death of the 31-year-old.

“They took an important person from our lives. You took someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s father, friend and I just don’t understand how you can kill someone and just go on and live your life day to day like nothing happened,” said Latoia Smith.

The Smith family is still trying to keep Joey’s memory alive in the public’s eye.

“I just feel empty because it’s always been just me, my mom, and my brother. It’s always just been us three. So I feel like a big part of me is gone. We have memories, but we’d rather have Joey here,” said Latoia Smith.

Bowling Green Police detectives have worked to interview loved ones and friends, but so far, still no arrests.

But BGPD is not giving up, and neither is Joey’s family.

“Cases stay on the desks of the detectives and they look at these cases on a regular basis,” said Ward.

“We’ve always been looking for closure and it’s not going to bring him back, but I just feel like the killer was someone that we all knew,” said Latoia Smith.

Joey is gone, but never forgotten, and the case won’t either.

If you know anything about this case, you are urged to contact the Bowling Green Police Department.