Murdered rapper Armani Kelly's mother visits Highland Park a year later to demand justice
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - A year after three rappers disappeared from Detroit, the mother of one of the men visited the spot where they were found murdered to demand justice.
Armani Kelly, Montoya Givens, and Dante Wicker were slated to perform at Lounge 31 on 7 Mile near Gratiot on Jan. 21, 2023. However, the event was canceled.
Kelly's mother reported her son missing on Jan. 23, 2023. According to police, she was able to use OnStar to track his car to Warren, where it was found that day. Four days later, family members of Givens and Wicker saw a media report about Kelly and realized all three men who knew each other were missing.
The bodies of the three men were found shot to death in an abandoned and rat-infested apartment building on Feb. 3, 2023.
"All he did was come down here to make that music," Kelly's mother, Lorrie Kemp, said.
(From L to R) Armani Kelly, Dante Wicker, Montoya Givens
Kelly was from Oscoda and had traveled to Detroit to perform. Now, a year after her son's disappearance, Kemp made the same journey to Metro Detroit, this time to pay tribute to her son and the other men killed.
"I want people to know that this is where they were murdered, and they threw them like a piece of trash," Kemp said. "I cannot move on until I get justice."
The three men had met while in prison, but Kemp said Kelly had turned his life around.
"I'm not saying Armani was perfect, nor was he an angel, but he was my son, and they took his life for no reason," Kemp said. "He was going to Alpena Community College. He had a job, he had a fiancée. He had a life."
No arrests in murder of 3 rappers months after they disappeared from Detroit club
It's been nearly three months since three men were seen alive heading for a Detroit club - and more than two months since their remains were found shot to death and frozen in an abandoned building. But the details from Michigan State Police have been limited.
Michigan State Police said there are no updates in the case, and they are still seeking tips that could lead them to the suspect.
Meanwhile, Kemp said private investigators are looking into the murders.
"My PI (private investigator) is working on it, and guess what? I'm coming after all of y'all. Every single one," Kemp said. "I will leave no stone unturned, if it's the last breath in my life."