Marcel Dessin was 22 when he was shot and killed on November 24, 2008, as he left the parking lot of a nightclub in Capitol Heights, Maryland. According to accounts, his vehicle was sprayed with bullets from another car while he was driving home after a night out with friends. Dessin was Black / African American and worked two jobs; he was the only son of a retired Washington D.C. police officer.

His parents, Tanya Jones and his father, a retired D.C. police officer, have held vigils and made public pleas for information. Investigators later placed the case with the Prince George’s Cold Case Squad and examined leads including a reported minor traffic altercation that may have escalated into deadly violence. No arrests have ever been made and no suspects have been publicly identified.