NEW ORLEANS — Three days after a young businessman was shot to death near Audubon Park, loved ones came together to support each other and celebrate his life.
Still, many questions remain about what happened to Devin Espadron.
Friday, at the scene where he was shot and killed, his mother, Keishia Deverney, cried while clutching his photo in the glow of candlelight.
“I’m not supposed to be burying my baby,” she gasped between sobs, while in the arms of a relative.
She can’t fathom how her 22-year-old son, a St. Augustine High School graduate and CEO of Element Beverage company, became a murder victim.
One close friend, during a prayer, said of Devin, "Not only did he give through his entrepreneurial spirit, but he gave through community service. He gave back to the very school that trained him, that gave him the very skills that he needed in order to contribute to society."
Devin was shot to death in the 6300 block of Perrier Street Tuesday night around 11:15.
A friend who was with him says two men with guns approached and tried to rob them before bullets flew.
Devin's older brother, David, is still trying to make sense of it all.
"We want to find out what's going on, and we want justice for Devin,” he said. You know, because he was a great person and he wasn't a bad person at all. And he wasn't into dealing with bad people."
David Espadron added, "I'm still so used to Devin calling me every morning, telling me good morning. So you know, right now I'm still kind of soaking it in.
While Devin Espadron was a businessman, he also recorded original music. Local producer, Beau Lemaire, recounted the time he helped Espadron record a song at a kitchen table.
"There's not a lot of people like that in this world, said Lemaire. “And for there to be one less, it’s extremely difficult for me to accept that.”
Detectives, digging for answers about the murder, watched the vigil nearby. The crowd of friends and family hugged and lifting each other up, before releasing dozens of balloons into the air.
A brass band began playing behind the crowd, turning the somber mood of the evening on its head, and sending Espadron’s memory off in New Orleans style.
Funeral arrangements have been made for Devin Espadron at the New Home Ministries on Carondelet Street. The viewing will be held Friday, Nov. 29 from 8-10 a.m., and a service will begin at at 10 a.m.
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