JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While police search for a killer, the family of a trucker gunned down on the Westside earlier this year waits for answers and hopes a cash reward will prompt people to come forward with information.
Police said someone shot and killed Christopher "Chip" Oney as he inspected his 18-wheeler in the parking lot of Pavco Trucking on Normandy Boulevard in January.
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"Not a day goes by that I don't think about him," said Oney's father, James Oney.
Officers said the former sailor was working as a trucker and had just arrived to work when he was shot in the head.
"He was so happy and so full of life, and then just a few days later, to have him snatched away -- it's just not fair," said Oney's stepmother, Kimberly Oney.
Police said they're still searching for answers in Oney's death, so on Friday they joined forces with the Justice Coalition and Crime Stoppers to offer a $6,000 reward.
Christopher Oney's mother, Charline Palladino, said she's grateful for the added attention. "People are becoming more and more aware of how much violence there is in the city. We really need to do something about," said Palladino.
Investigators said they have been able to pinpoint a two-door, yellow car with black markings on it as being in the area when Oney died. Officers said they're processing the car and haven't ruled out the driver as a potential suspect.
For Lyn Ragan, who was engaged to marry Christopher Oney, the investigation process has been especially difficult. She said she was the last person to talk to her fiance over the phone.
Ragan was also one of the first to discover Christopher Oney after the shooting.
"There was blood on his forehead, and I still thought at the time he fell off the truck somehow," Ragan said.
"It's just a terrible tragedy for everybody in our family. We're still not over it," said James Oney.
His family said Oney was a very fun-loving, easygoing person who got along well with a lot of people, and it can't imagine why he would be shot and killed as he was.
Police are asking anyone with information about Oney's shooting death to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office homicide detectives at 904-630-2172.