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SNITCH THEM OUT!!
By Gwynn Ellis-Manning
Special to The Truth
Another Mother's Day has
passed and one Toledo mother is still praying, still
broken-hearted and her life will forever be changed by the
senseless murder of her ONLY son, Cethus Jerome Manning II
who was murdered in the early morning hours of February 21,
2017. This is the morning that Gwynn Manning received the
heart breaking call and news that no mother EVER wants to
receive...the news that her son has been murdered.
Imagine this, on the night
of February 20, 2017 as her son was at home talking with her
and preparing to go to work at his part-time job (Fed Ex)
from 11:30 PM until 3:30 AM. "Jay" (as his family and
friends called him) was happy that he was about to graduate
from his Welding Apprentice Program from Penta County and
that following Monday he was to start a job at Sunrise
Windows, a job his sister helped him obtain.
His mother remembers the
joy in his eyes and heart as he was dancing in his room,
getting ready and went down the stairs to go to work that
night. His mother was at the top of the stairs saying "I
love you baby, and be careful." His reply was "I love you
too mama and I'll be careful." This last memory and vision
of her son running down the stairs will FOREVER be embedded
in her mind, for this would be the last time she would see
her son ALIVE.
Cethus J. Manning II was
not killed in an automobile accident, or a mishap at work;
he was gunned down by a cold-blooded killer as he sat in his
mother's car and talked with his girlfriend (who also worked
at Fed Ex) after their shift in front of her grandmother's
house on Everett Street. He tried to get out of the car, but
was shot in the back of the head, his back and upper thigh.
His lifeless body fell out of the car on the passenger side
and hit the curb where he laid and took his last breath.
Gwynn Manning would like
for you to know her son, who he really was, and this is her
story...
February 21, 2017, at 5:15
AM, will forever be the darkest day of my life because in
the early morning hours as he was dropping off his
girlfriend around 4:30 AM, someone walked up to my car and
shot my son (Cethus Jay Manning II) and killed him...he was
only 19 years old. My son wasn't a thug or a menace to
society; he was a respectable and decent young man.
He wasn't out here
robbing, raping, killing, selling drugs, or committing
crimes. He didn't carry a gun as these young people do
today. He was coming home from work when someone stole his
life. He was my only son, and my world has forever been
changed. I have a whole in my heart that will never go away.
Some days the heartache and pain is just unbearable. I look
at his pictures of the loving, smiling young man and ask
myself consistently, "why would someone kill my child?" I am
in grief beyond words, and so is the rest of my family.
I pray every day that
whoever did this heinous crime to my child, that God will
reveal them, and bring JUSTICE FOR JAY. He didn't deserve to
be shot up in a car, and die like a dog in the street. The
police have no suspects, just persons of interest (as they
say), but no one has been charged with this brutal crime.
I'm asking for prayers for my family that we'll have peace,
comfort and closure. This is so hard, so very hard. No
parent should have to go through this.
"Jay", (as we called him)
was a good boy, a loving, kind, respectable young man who
had his whole life ahead of him. He was just coming into his
life as a man when it was stolen from him. He'll never have
a family, a child; know the joys and perils of being a man
and taking care of his responsibilities, and being an asset
to society. He would have been someone great and good, an
asset to the community and society. I am haunted by the
visions of my son's last thoughts as he looked at his
killer, and drew his last breath. I pray that he didn't
suffer; that he called on Jesus before his life left him,
and of course his Mama. Burying your child is the most
devastating thing that will happen to any parent in their
lifetime.
You go through all the
facets of sorrow and grief. Missing your child; missing
their face, their laughter and watching them grow from a
child into adulthood. Parents are not supposed to bury their
children; our children are supposed to bury us and when this
circle of life is distorted, it is a heartache that doesn't
ever end, or ever heal. For the rest of your life you will
feel the loss, the hurt, the heartache, the emptiness and
the void that will never be filled.
"Jay" was a loving, kind,
respectable and decent young man who had his whole life
ahead of him. He was just coming into his life as a man,
when it was stolen from him. He was enrolled in a Welding
Apprentice Program, doing very well and would have graduated
in June of 2017. His school gave him a tribute on their
graduation day. He attended school from 5:00 until 9:30 PM,
and then worked at Fed Ex from 11:00 PM until 3:30 AM,
Monday through Friday. "Jay" was a decent child, reared in a
loving home and family. He was also raised in the church, a
member of the youth choir, and was in a few affiliations in
the church and community.
"Jay" was loved by so many
and had a plethora of friends who miss him terribly. Anyone
who knew him knows that he had the kindest heart, a
beautiful smile that lit up a room and was the most loving,
caring and respectable young man. There is now a tremendous
void that is our present and our future due to "Jay's"
tragic departure from this earthly life. We have a whole in
our hearts that will never be filled. Some days the pain and
heartache is just unbearable. I miss my only son.
I have been constantly
keeping in touch with the detective(s) on his case, and they
always say that the case hasn't gone cold, but they have
nothing. No one has called into crime stopper with anything,
or no one has called them with any new leads or information
and how this just baffles the bureau that no one has called
in with a legitimate lead that will lead to the apprehension
and prosecution of his murderer. My family has posted a
reward; the Detective Bureau has listed the case in the
town's crime-stopper program and the paper with a reward and
to no avail. My family has posted flyers with his picture on
them, and no answers, the city's crime stopper program
posted a reward also and nothing.
It's so heartbreaking to
think that you raised a wonderful person for 19 years and
then he's brutally taken from this earth and no one is
accountable for this terrible injustice.
C. J. and Gwynn Manning's
son was a Rogers High School Graduate, and enrolled in a
Welding Apprentice Program at Penta County. He was a "Good,
Decent Kid" Jay Manning had no criminal record, had never
been arrested or in trouble with the law. He was raised in a
two parent home; raised and active in church with his youth
choir. He was reared to respect his elders, and to do the
right thing in life, yet someone plotted to steal his life.
It's not only the person you murder that suffers from such a
heinous action, but their whole family as well.
"Jay's" life was not taken
in a fit of rage; he was not arguing with anyone or as an
act of self-defense. It was plain cold blooded murder, and
his young life was forever silenced. His 20th birthday was
celebrated as a vigil at Woodlawn Cemetery with family,
friends and people who loved him wearing T-shirts with his
pictures on them. Along with a balloon release, many were in
attendance sharing heartfelt words about him. Channel 13
News, The Toledo Blade and The Toledo Journal covered the
event. Sweet memories are now all we have to remember his
voice, his presence and the life and love we will forever
miss.
Cethus J. Manning II was
the eighth homicide of 2017. His story is one of the many
unsolved murders in Toledo, and these murders and the
murderers must be stopped. Our youth are killing their
generation for no reason at all, and this must cease. It's
time for Mothers, Fathers and families to stop burying their
children and loved ones because of this senseless gun
violence these young people are doing now.
People the time has come
to SNITCH THEM OUT! Let the perpetrator(s) of this and other
horrific crimes know that they don't have the right to TAKE
A LIFE just because you have an argument; are jealous;
envious; gang related; don't like them, etc. A life is a
precious thing, and it's not a PlayStation or other gaming
system where the person attacked or killed can get back up
when you push REPLAY! Life isn't like that. When you kill
someone its FINAL. They can't come back from DEATH!!
Families are being destroyed and Mothers are devastated for
the rest of their lives. Please people, if you know
something about this terrible crime that happened to young
Cethus Manning II, please I beseech you to come forward and
inform on them. You can call crime stopper at
(419)-255-1111, and make acknowledgement of what you know or
heard.
This could be the tip that
cracks this case. Do the right thing; this could have been
YOUR family member, (so think how you would feel).
No longer must these cold
blooded killers be allowed to walk free, sit at our tables,
eat our food, sleep in our homes, ride in our cars and
breathe and live, while they ended someone's life for
nothing. Not because it was self-defense, protecting their
family or property, but just because they have a gun. In the
old days if you had a beef with someone, you had a fist
fight, and you either whooped or got whopped, but you LIVED
to fight another day. Nowadays everyone wants to carry a gun
and just kill someone just because they can. What if this
was your brother, sister, mother, father, etc., how would
you feel then?
It is time for these vile
people to know and understand that there is a God who sits
high and looks low. Nothing is hidden from God, and you REAP
WHAT YOU SOW ALWAYS!!! No longer must these cold blooded
killers be allowed to take the lives of our youth or anybody
and then brag about ending the life of another human being.
SNITCH THEM OUT!!! They
must be exposed; Justice must and will come when we as a
community take a stand. If you know something - say
something. You can remain anonymous. But if you know
something, saw something, then say something or the blood of
these victims is on your hands. There is nothing noble about
keeping the secret of a murderer! SNITCH THEM OUT!!! The
taste of blood is in their mouths and they are thirsty for
more. Don't think that you are exempt from the havoc they
wreak, these killers do not value life and the next life
they decide to take might be YOURS, or someone you love.
I pray that God will
reveal whoever did this heinous crime to this child, and
bring them to justice to be prosecuted to the full extent of
the law for what they did to young Cethus J. Manning II.
I thank you in advance for
your time and consideration in this matter.
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