Twenty-seven-year-old Demetres Hyman, affectionately known as “Meatball,” grew up in Jacksonville, Florida as the youngest child in his family. His sisters were considerably older and had already moved out of the family home during much of his childhood, but the siblings nevertheless developed close relationships.
His mother, Gwendolyn Hyman, remembered her son as someone who naturally attracted people. He was sociable, confident, and comfortable taking the lead among his friends. According to Gwendolyn, Demetres preferred being a leader rather than following others, and his outgoing nature made him someone people enjoyed spending time with.
His sister, Catrina St. Rose, particularly remembered his sense of humor. Demetres was constantly joking, and family gatherings were frequently filled with laughter. He was also remembered for his distinctive smile, something that remained especially vivid in his family’s memories after his death.
Basketball was one of the most important activities in Demetres’ life. He began playing when he was young, participating throughout middle school and competing in summer basketball leagues. As he grew older, the sport became a way to spend time with friends, meet new people, and enjoy himself outside school. He frequently visited the local Boys & Girls Club, where basketball provided both recreation and a strong sense of community. Although he continued playing during high school, it gradually became more of an after-school and weekend activity.
Demetres also performed well academically. His family recalled that he generally earned A’s and B’s in high school. After graduating, he developed an interest in electrical work and spent some time employed by an electrical company.
By June 2012, Demetres was also a father. He shared custody of his young daughter, who would lose her father before she had the opportunity to grow up with him.
Sunday, June 10th, 2012, initially seemed like an ordinary day for Demetres and his family. That day, he visited his sister Tonya’s home and took his nephew to the YMCA to play basketball. It was the kind of activity he particularly enjoyed, combining his enthusiasm for the sport with an opportunity to spend time with a younger family member. After returning from the YMCA, Demetres wanted to spend a little more time with his nephew playing video games. However, the boy had homework to finish and suggested that his uncle return another time.
Neither of them could have known that this would be their final opportunity to spend time together.
On Monday, June 11th, 2012, Demetres made his way toward his brother’s residence in Jacksonville’s Fairfield neighborhood, an area east of Springfield. The house was located in the 400 block of Jessie Street.
What began as a visit to a family member’s home ended in a sudden and violent confrontation. According to a September 2025 account published by Project: Cold Case, Demetres was chased into the backyard of his brother’s property at approximately two p.m, where he was shot. The available accounts do not establish what happened immediately before the pursuit, whether Demetres knew his attacker, or what prompted the shooting.
Inside the house, Demetres’ brother heard the gunfire. He rushed outside and discovered his brother lying motionless in the backyard. Demetres had suffered fatal gunshot injuries.
Investigators from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office began examining the circumstances of the shooting. Early information suggested that the person responsible might have fled the area in a silver vehicle. However, police did not publicly release a detailed suspect description, and contemporary reports offered little information about the circumstances leading up to the attack.
The investigation into Demetres’ murder appears to have generated relatively little public reporting. A June 2012 report, attributed to the Florida Times-Union and preserved in an online archive, discussed Demetres’ previous encounters with the criminal justice system. According to the report, Demetres had been released from Jacksonville’s city jail in May 2012 after an aggravated assault charge against him was dropped. It also reported that he had been released from state prison in September 2011 following a sentence involving child abuse and cocaine convictions.
No publicly available evidence, however, establishes that Demetres’ previous criminal cases were connected to his killing. Likewise, there is no verified information indicating that his murder resulted from retaliation, a personal dispute, or any particular criminal activity.
On September 15, 2025, Project: Cold Case published an article about Demetres’ life and murder, written by Emma Pochel as part of a collaboration with the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class. The article included recollections from Gwendolyn, Tonya, and Catrina, providing a more personal account of Demetres than the brief news reports published immediately after his death.
The renewed attention brought his story to a wider audience and highlighted the lasting consequences of a homicide investigation that had failed to produce a publicly identified killer.
But as of October 2026, no arrest or conviction in Demetres’ murder has been announced, and the crime remains unsolved.
