Nearly 15 years after Jam Master Jay was murdered, the police has officially ruled it as a cold case, reports the Associated Press. The late Run-DMC DJ, whose real name is Jason Mizell, was shot and killed inside of a Queens, N.Y. recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002.
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Although the case has gone cold, some friends of JMJ believe that it would eventually get solved. “It’s not resolved to the legal eye, but the street always talks,” said Jeremy “JL” Lam, a friend of JMJ’s family and a partner in the newly remodeled Queens studio.
Although witnesses were in the studio at the time, some are afraid to come forward because they “could go to jail as accomplices,” said JMJ’s cousin Ryan Thompson. Other family members are even less hopeful.
“We know it’s any anniversary but we don’t like to talk about it much anymore,” Jam Master Jay’s older sister, Bonita Jones, told AP.
According to police, a day before Halloween, two gunmen were buzzed inside the Queens studio and committed an armed robbery. According to some reports, Jam Master Jay hugged one of the men before gunfire erupted. One round missed him but a second bullet entered the left side of his head. The armed suspects left without a trace.
Police said there were at least four other people in the studio at the time. But none provided enough details to produce any strong leads. Plus, the security camera in the studio was broken.
15 years later, the studio has been refurbished and the only reminder of the tragedy is a mural and the “JMJ” record label insignia on the door.
Alix Dontfraid, a founder of the current Signature Soundz Studios, says it feels a “little spooky” inside but tries to focus on the positive.
“Jam Master Jay could have built this studio anywhere, but he built it here, where it was needed,” he said. “That’s an energy I’m trying to perpetuate.”
