Cold Case: Arliss Eady

On Halloween night in 1996, 49-year old Arliss Eady, and his brother, Charles Bush arrived at a home on Larkin Avenue to make a pickup. While Bush waited in the car, Eady is quickly surrounded.

"When he approached the house two gentlemen came from both sides of the house," explains Former Chattanooga Police Officer Eyo Efiom. "He attempted to run from them. He was shot."

Before Tennessee's lottery was legal, it was common for lottery tickets from other states to be bought and sold on the streets. Detectives say 49-year old Arliss Eady was involved in one of those illegal lottery operations.

"He would just deliver tickets to the people that would sell them, and then go back and pick up the sold tickets and the money for that ticket, and then deliver that to whoever his source was," notes Sgt. Bill Phillips of the Chattanooga Police Department

Detectives believe on this particular night, it was no accident that armed men were waiting for Eady. They believe someone knew he was coming to the home, and knew there would be cash involved.

Witnesses described seeing at least two African American males coming from the area just after the shots were fired. They got into what's believed to be a dark colored cadillac, with a light vinyl top.

In the time since the murder, investigators have followed up a number of leads. But they still do not have anyone behind bars for the crime.

Sgt. Phillips says, "A lot of times after 10 or 12 years, information loosens up, and people will be more likely to call in and we can just hope that maybe information has loosened up."

That's the break police, and the family of Arliss Eady hope for, so they can finally find out who pulled the trigger.