The last time Dahlia Brown saw her 15-year-old son alive, he was standing in her bedroom doorway wearing a smile and a little too much cologne.
It was 10:15 p.m. and he was pleading to visit one of his best friends.
It was a friend Brown trusted and had known for some time. A 15-year-old鈥檚 perfect alibi.
鈥淗e was standing there, so handsome. And he smelled so good,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淎nd I literally asked, 鈥榃hat are you going to do? Just hang out? Looking like that? Smelling like that?鈥 But, he鈥檚 not a bad kid, so I let him go.
鈥淗e was just so quick with his lie.鈥
But as he stood there, in the doorway, smiling at his mother, she reluctantly waved goodbye.
Then, the exhausted mother fell asleep quietly as her middle son鈥檚 life would soon come to a screeching halt.
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THE SHOOTING
Daydrian Brown was shot multiple times and died in the street outside of a house party near East 22nd Street and South Craycroft Road, police say.
He never ended up at the home of his friend.
The white lie that led Daydrian to the party ended with his death, his mother said.
鈥淭o this day I don鈥檛 know which 鈥榝riend鈥 he was with,鈥 Brown said.
Prior to the shooting, police say, Daydrian argued with some partygoers about a bottle of alcohol stolen from a group of girls.
鈥淭his, over a $25 BuzzBomb,鈥 Brown lamented Tuesday.
While most of the people at the party fled before police arrived, interviews and a search of cellphone videos and photos left investigators confident they鈥檒l find Daydrian鈥檚 killer.
WHERE鈥橲 MY SON?
Later that night, Brown awoke to pounding at her door.
It was the friend Daydrien was supposed to be with, and his parents.
Daydrian had been in an accident, they told Brown.
鈥淎 car accident? Did he fall? What happened?鈥 she pleaded.
蜜柚直播 police say video and photos from a party where 15-year-old Daydrian Brown was slain over the weekend makes investigators confident they鈥檒l find his killer.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I wasn鈥檛 at the party,鈥 the friend said.
鈥淧arty?!鈥, Brown exclaimed. That was the first time she鈥檇 heard of one.
By the time she got to the crime scene, Brown said, the street was mostly empty and her son had already been placed in a body bag.
She wasn鈥檛 allowed to see Daydrian鈥檚 body, but she hugged the bag tightly.
She rubbed his shoulders through the thick material, then the knee that always bothered Daydrian when he played soccer.
A SOCCER STANDOUT
Daydrian was very well known in the soccer community.
He was a star player who began playing at the age of 5.
His dad, Rene Guevara, was his first coach.
鈥淲hen he stepped on the field, you felt it,鈥 Brown said of her son鈥檚 soccer skills. 鈥淗e was so, so beyond good. So talented.鈥
And he was a good person, too, she pointed out. 鈥滺e made everyone around him feel loved. If there was a kid in the corner no one was talking to, he鈥檚 going to talk to that person.鈥
Daydrian played forward with the Vail Soccer Club before going to FC 蜜柚直播鈥檚 youth team.
He played for 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Olympic Development Program and his coaches said he tried out for their regional team.
Brown said their home was the gathering place for all of Daydrian鈥檚 soccer friends.
鈥淚 was the soccer mom,鈥 she said proudly, as if wearing a badge of honor. 鈥淓veryone was always at my house. It was always crazy, but it was always beautiful,鈥 just like her son, she said.
She鈥檒l remember his silly voices and his penchant for having picture-perfect haircuts. She鈥檒l remember his love for the rapper Drake, and desire to make everything 鈥渆xtra.鈥
During a vigil held Monday, Vail Soccer Club Coach Jarrett Galigher said Daydrian, 鈥渆mbraced everything that we encourage in soccer culture: creativity, enjoying the game, having a passion about the game.鈥
His father said his son is leaving behind a legacy for future generations.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to go out and say if it wasn鈥檛 hard for him, and he just puts in the work, then I can do it too,鈥 Guevara said.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what I want the legacy of Daydrian to leave behind, is anything is possible for anybody.鈥
