Mother makes public plea to find son's killer

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (WSVN) -- A mother agonizing over the death of her son is turning to the public for help.

Yvonne Youngblood lost her son, Toriano Youngblood, on Sept. 24 during a robbery at his North Miami home, located at 1325 NW 130 St. Now she's hoping to use a picture of his stolen jewelry to find the killer.

Youngblood spoke at the North Miami Police Department headquarters Monday morning in hopes that an image of his stolen necklace will help bring her son's killer to justice. "Because it was done like an animal killed someone and no one could give any information about it, so it's really painful," she said about her decision to speak out.

North Miami Police think the thief shot and killed her son in his residence that Thursday, at approximately 4:15 p.m., for his gold chain, which could not be found at the scene. "Anyone who has any information, they should come forward and call police and tell what they know," said the mother.

Police said they found no signs of forced entry in the victim's home. "Detectives believe that the killer was known to Mr. Youngblood," explained North Miami Police Lt. Neil Cuevas. "Unfortunately, as Mr. Youngblood was calling for help on the phone and dying, he was unable to identify his killer."

The family acknowledged Youngblood had a criminal past but said he had recently turned his life around and joined a church. The medallion he had worn has an image Jesus Christ carrying a cross. "He was the kind of person that always was helpful and very caring with people, especially with me," said his mother.

Investigators want to ask the public to take a good look at the picture of Toriano and the missing medallion and call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS with any leads that can help them catch his killer. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

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