News

Actions

Basketball Standout Remembered 10 Years After Tragic Death

Posted at 11:09 PM, Jul 13, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-13 23:09:55-04

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Diane Wilson lost her son Kelsey in 2003. The former high school basketball standout from Muskegon played college ball for the Butler Bulldogs. He also played professionally in the ABA.

“It’s hard for any mother that has lost a child. I tell anybody, ‘you don’t know my story, if you haven’t been where I’ve been,’” Wilson said.

She said Kelsey was with a friend late one night in Indianapolis, when the pair were shot and killed. Not much more is known.

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Wilson said.

She said her son was an inspiration on and off the court. He was active in the community and a role model for youth. Ten years later, his memory brings people together. Friends and family gathered to celebrate him Saturday from 12 pm to 6 pm.

To this day, his murder remains unsolved. It’s violence that Wilson is reminded of here in Muskegon and Muskegon Heights, periodically.

“It is foolishness, and it’s senseless. It’s over streets and territory. These [streets were] here back in the 1800s,” she said. “So we’re fighting over something that’s not even ours.”

In the Muskegon area, Elijah Henderson, Quinton miller, and Kentae Jones are just a few of the people gunned down this year. Their families are also seeking justice. Wilson said she understands people with information about crimes stay silent often because they feel threatened, but she said that’s still no excuse.

“I look at it like this, for ten years nobody has spoke up about my son’s death. Nobody,” she said.

Muskegon County prosecutor also attended the celebration. He said, “When people don’t cooperate [with investigations], you’re hurting those families from getting closure.”

Hilson said that’s why speaking up isn’t just for law enforcement’s benefit. Put yourself in Wilson’s shoes.

“Just because it’s not your parent that’s grieving today, who’s to say that they won’t grieve next week, next month, next year, for the same crime that’s you’ve committed,” Wilson asked rhetorically.

Anyone with information regarding crimes in the Muskegon area is asked to call 231-72-CRIME.