Daughter seeks justice five months after father’s murder

RICHMOND COUNTY — A Rowland woman seeks justice five months after the shooting death of her father – Steve Ray Locklear.

Kim Locklear, the daughter of Steve Ray Locklear, reached out to the Daily Journal as the first step in a campaign to bring justice to her father’s killer.

“We want answers here. We feel lost, and nobody is trying to help us. My dad meant something. He meant something to us. Whether think he did or not, my dad had family … I want to come to some kind of closure. I want to get my dad justice. I feel like justice should be served,” Kim Locklear said.

Locklear said she had been in contact with her father through his roommate, a man she only knew by T.T. After a while, she began calling, but each time the call would not go through and eventually the person to whom the phone number belonged blocked her from calling. After reaching out to area law enforcement, she eventually discovered her father died of gunshot wounds he received around 2 a.m. at Spring Street, outside of city limits in East Rockingham on December 29 of 2023.

“My dad’s life is gone, not due to his health problems, because he had cancer, but because somebody took his life … They shot my father five times, so they meant to kill my dad. I want answers. Why? Why did you do it? That’s all I want to know,” Kim Locklear said.

Locklear said her father’s health condition made the crime especially galling. At the time of his death, he was on disability due to a combination of cancers and injuries sustained after being struck by a vehicle in 2012.

“Someone saw what happened. They know what happened … I can understand you not wanting to get involved, but you don’t have to go in or be seen talking to a detective or the police. You can make an anonymous call to a tip line, to crime stoppers, just to help solve my daddy’s murder,” Locklear said.

Due to the nature of her father’s death, Locklear said the property her father had in his possession has not been released to her. Following the disappearance of his roommate T.T., her only remaining memento of her father is a vase containing his actions. She implored anyone from the community to reach out to law enforcement. She speculated the killer may have been emboldened by the murder, and how long it may be until someone else’s father, mother, brother or sister meets a similar fate, and the only memento his or her family has are ashes in a vase.

“Don’t let them get away. If they get away with this, they might do it again, and next time it might be your loved one. It might be your family … I can’t get my dad’s belongings. His family pictures of us from when we were little. We can’t get his clothes, his shoes or any of his belongings that were in a camper with this guy T.T. They vanished off of the planet Earth. His stuff just disappeared after 10 years of living in Rockingham,” Locklear said.

For those with information regarding the death of Steve Ray Locklear, contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 895-3232.