Deep: Woman Confronts Son's Killer & Forgives Him
The strength it must have taken for this woman to do this is incredible.
Suliman Abdul-Mutakallim was shot in the back of his head, as he walked home, carrying food for himself and his wife.
Authorities say he was an innocent and unsuspecting victim.
After two teenagers pleaded guilty this month at separate court hearings and were sentenced to prison terms, Abdul-Mutakallim's mother, Rukiye, offered to hug them.
Javon Coulter said she could.
Rukiye wants to visit them in prison regularly and help them become better people.
She thinks about it this way: They have been infected by a disease, but are young. They can be cured.
Vengeance, she said, solves nothing. It won't bring back her son.
It happened the night of June 28, 2015, in South Cumminsville, under a highway overpass. Suliman was walking home from a White Castle, carrying a bag of food.
Police say there were three robbers. One of them, Javon, who was 14, was seen in a surveillance video pulling money from the front pocket of his pants right after the shooting.
The 39-year-old Navy veteran, known by many as “Sam,” was still alive, face-down on the pavement, bleeding. His wallet likely contained less than $60.
The video showed Javon hand money to the other two. One was 17-year-old Valentino Pettis. Police believe the third person was a man in his 20s, but he was never charged.
Javon, Valentino and the third person then walked down the street, taking the food with them. -(Kevin Grasha, The Cincinnati Enquirer)