Police believe mysterious phone call is key in man's minivan murder

DETROIT (WJBK) - A family is looking for answers after their loved one was murdered in a Detroit neighborhood they say is unfamiliar. The only clue police really have at this time is a mysterious phone call. 

Timothy Patterson was found dead in his van in the middle of the night on October 22, 2017. His car was still running at the intersection of Foley and Manor streets, which is on the city's west side near Fullerton Avenue and Meyers Road. Nobody else was in the car, which had its flashers on. Patterson had a single gunshot wound to the chest. 

Before he was killed, Patterson had been spending time in the area of Ford and Telegraph in Dearborn Heights, roughly a 20 minute drive frmo the crime scene. While there, he received a phone call. 

"He was talking to a family member, received a phone call from an unknown person, saying, I'll meet you up on the block. And then he left and that's the last time anybody heard from him again," says Detroit Police Detective Aaron Colwell. 

So, why did Patterson come to this neighborhood?

That's the question that police can't figure out. According to Patterson's family, this neighborhood isn't a place he would hang out or frequent. 

The neighborhood has been beaten down by blight, and that's one factor causing a roadblock for police. There's absolutely no witnesses. 

Four cell phones and body armor were found in Patterson's mini van, which leads police to more questions. 

"A family said he always wore [body armor] and never took it off, so, why he was not wearing it at that time indicates it was maybe somebody he knows," Colwell says. 

The family is rightfully angry the crime remains unsolved. 

If you have any information that may help police solve this mystery, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. You will be anonymous.