In the early morning hours of July 23rd, 2001, twenty-year-old Wajid Coleman walked out of his home at 1302 29th Street East in Palmetto, Florida, a small city in Manatee County. He was never seen alive again. One week later, on July 30th, 2001, his body was discovered in a wooded area in the 600 block of Magellan Drive (near Kimlinda Lane) in southern Manatee County. An autopsy determined that Coleman had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The events leading to Coleman’s disappearance appear tied to a violent incident at or near his residence that night. According to reports from the reopened investigation, Coleman had intervened to protect a woman from an assault by her ex-boyfriend, twenty-six-year-old Terrance Johnson. Coleman reportedly convinced Johnson to leave the home, but he then left himself around four a.m. and did not return. Later that same night, Johnson allegedly returned, sexually assaulted, and kidnapped the woman. Johnson was subsequently arrested and charged with rape, false imprisonment, and burglary with battery in connection with that crime. Coleman’s family and investigators have long believed his attempt to protect the woman may have led to his own death, though no direct charges were ever filed against Johnson (or anyone else) in Coleman’s homicide.
Initial investigators in 2001 faced few leads, and despite efforts to identify those responsible, the case quickly went cold. The lack of witnesses, physical evidence, or clear motive at the time left authorities without a path forward.
In May 2023, more than twenty-one years after the murder, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit revived the investigation. Detectives announced they were re-examining evidence and actively seeking new information from the public to resolve the long-standing mystery.
Further developments emerged in September 2023, when the Sheriff’s Office issued an “Attempt to Locate” for fifty-one-year-old Gregory Bernard Williams, who was believed to reside in Sun City, Florida. Detectives stated that Williams had additional knowledge relevant to the 2001 homicide and wanted him for questioning. No arrest or formal charges against Williams have been publicly confirmed in connection with the case.
The killing of Wajid Coleman remains unsolved more than two decades later, classified as a cold case by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Crime Immemorial 