Eastpointe family gathers to remember man shot and killed by his own wife

Eastpointe man fatally shot by his wife, family and friends gather to remember his death

James was killed by his just two days after Christmas in his Eastpointe home.

EASTPOINTE, Mich. (FOX 2) - An Eastpointe family is mourning after their loved one was killed in a shooting in late December.

Family members gathered at the Diamond Glo Auto Wash at the corner of 7 Mile and Mt. Elliot on Sunday. James Patmon worked there since he was just 12-years-old.

"He was still working here up until the tragedy," said his sister Nikesha Patmon.

Just two days after Christmas James was murdered in his Eastpointe home. The alleged killer — his wife of 17 years.

Investigators say 42-year-old Claretta Johnson shot James in the back of his head after an argument. She was arrested at the scene and now faces murder charges.

"It was a shock; I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a bad dream for like three days until I saw the sorry, and I was like, oh, it’s real," said Shay Maxion, a long-term friend.

James' sister said they would occasionally get texts from Claretta saying she wanted to kill him.

"Get your brother I’m going to kill him, things like that— we didn’t think she would actually go that far," she said.

More than a week later, Patmon’s family has yet to give him a proper burial.

"He had insurance, but if he’d be murdered under the hand of his wife, we can’t use that insurance, so it’s up to us to try to raise the money to bury my brother," his sister said.

"He never had a fightin bone in him, everybody knew him as a joyful, smiled al lot he just loved people."

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