Lil Marlo‘s family is demanding answers from authorities, five years after the rapper was brutally gunned down, with no one ever being charged for the crime.
Now, his father, Rudolph Johnson, is demanding answers since the cops have not made a single arrest related to the homicide.
The Hip-Hop artist, born Rudolph Simmons Johnson IV, was only 30 when police found him shot to death inside a wrecked car on Interstate 285 near the Benjamin E. Mays Drive overpass on July 11, 2020.
Investigators believe he was targeted, but five years later, the case remains open, with no suspects in custody.
“We haven’t had closure yet,” Johnson told FOX 5 Atlanta. “It’s been a hard five years.”
The Quality Control Music signee had been in the studio the night he was killed. Around 11:30 P.M., someone opened fire as he drove, causing his vehicle to crash. His death left behind three children, now between the ages of 8 and 12.
“His mother called me and said, ‘Rudy is gone. He’s gone! He’s gone!’” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t want to believe it. I didn’t believe it and I couldn’t believe it.”
Lil Marlo, whose music was gaining traction in Atlanta’s Hip-Hop scene, had ambitions beyond music. According to his father, he wanted to use his platform to uplift his neighborhood and provide for his family.
“He wanted to use that to make things better, not just for him and his family, but also his community where he was from,” Johnson said.
Despite the case’s high profile and repeated media coverage, the investigation has stalled.
FOX 5 Atlanta reported that the Atlanta Police Department did not respond to multiple inquiries this week about the case’s status.
“We’re not gonna let this situation slide under the rug,” Johnson said. “I’m gonna get out and do whatever I can to make noise so that this case can be solved.”
The Fulton County Medical Examiner confirmed the rapper’s death, but the lack of movement in the case has left Johnson frustrated. His call for justice echoes the voices of many families across Atlanta still waiting for answers in unsolved killings.
“I just don’t understand how or why,” Johnson said.
He continues to urge anyone with information to come forward and contact Atlanta police, hoping that someone will finally break the silence.