Justice for Eric Nealms: The Unsolved Driveway Murder of a 30-Year-Old in Phoenix City, Alabama

It was just before sunrise on a quiet September morning in Phoenix City, Alabama, when 30-year-old Eric Nealms stepped outside, heading to work like he did every morning. But someone was already waiting. This week, we explore the shocking, premeditated murder of a man who was deeply loved and is still desperately missed by his family.

• The Victim: We introduce you to Eric Nealms. Born in Columbus, Georgia, Eric was a kind, funny, and supportive man who was devoted to his family. His life was suddenly and violently cut short by an act of cowardice.

• The Crime: Within moments of leaving his home, Eric was shot multiple times in his own driveway and left to die. Authorities quickly confirmed the presence of a witness who saw a person of interest—a light-skinned man wearing dark clothing—running from the scene immediately after the shots were fired.

• The Stalled Investigation: Despite the witness account, multiple leads, and the promise of a substantial reward, the investigation stalled. We detail the painful and relentless fight his family has endured over the years, begging for someone to come forward and bring them closure.

• The Call for Help: The family believes Eric made one mistake, but he did not deserve to be taken from them. They are tirelessly working to keep his name in the public eye and are offering a $15,000 reward for the arrest and conviction in this case.

Join us as we share Eric's story and the vital information needed to solve this cold case. The Nealms family deserves justice, and the person responsible for Eric's murder should be held accountable.

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TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] It was just before sunrise on a quiet September morning in Phoenix City, Alabama when 3-year-old Eric Nellum stepped outside heading to work like he did every morning, but someone was already waiting within moments. Eric was shot multiple times and left to die in his driveway.

Hey guys, and welcome to the Moms and Mysteries podcast, a True Crime podcast featuring myself, Mandy, and my dear friend Melissa. Hi, Melissa. Hi, Mandy. How are you? I am doing all right. We are getting into, I think, what they call the dog Days of summer. And I feel like a dog, so I know. I know. It's everything's hot, sticky, wet.

Ugh. I said mildewy, but that's not what I mean. Just, but it feels that way. Like mildewy, mildew vibes. Big mildew vibes everywhere and yeah, I'm just very much over it. [00:01:00] I'm always over summer, so I'm, I'm not a good summer person. You are. I can see you right now wearing a sweatshirt. Okay. In your home. It's actually not even cool in here whatsoever, but it's a comfort thing.

It's very comfortable halfway through. I might take it off. I don't know. We'll see. But go ahead Mandy. So before we get into the story of what happened to Eric Nelms, we wanna introduce you to the person that he was. Eric was so much more than a name in a headline. He was someone who was deeply loved and is still missed every day.

Eric was born on June 10th, 1971 in Columbus, Georgia. He was the youngest child to his mom, Annie, and he grew up with an older sister named Kathy. Eric and Kathy shared a very special bond. The media often reports that Eric had 15 siblings, and he technically did, but that wasn't quite the full story.

Eric's other siblings were through marriage and they were at different stages of his life, but for Eric and Ka, it was always [00:02:00] just the two of them. So they really did have a very special sibling bond. Ka said that Eric was her best friend. They were close in age and were inseparable from the very beginning.

She said that they just did life together. Kathy admired Eric's creative and curious mind, and she remembers one time when they were kids and had just gotten an Atari, and Eric was just obsessed with figuring out how it worked. So what did he do? He took it apart. Kathy walked in while he was kind of dissecting this brand new game console and said, mom's going to kill you, which as a mom.

And having boys who love doing things like that are very curious about the way things work, but not quite understanding that you can't just take apart like a very expensive item. Right. Just to see how it works. Um, but of course a kid's like, why not? So? Absolutely. Yeah. So Eric was a very playful and happy kid with a bright smile, and his joyful spirit is something that he kept [00:03:00] right into adulthood.

His mom remembers him as being smart and respectful and said he was always the life of the party at cookouts and family gatherings. His energy was magnetic and it really drew people in. As a little boy. Eric would strut around in his grandma's neighborhood with his chest puffed out, and he would wave and smile at everyone like he was this little tiny in training.

He was just a natural born leader. Eric was naturally charismatic and very genuine. He was someone that wasn't afraid to be himself, and he made an impact on everyone who knew him. His love for his family was evident in the way he lived his whole life. He would do anything to make them proud, and he cherished spending holidays with them, especially Christmas.

Christmastime was when the whole family would get together at their grandma's house and they would eat, dance, laugh, and just enjoy being together. And those were some of the most cherished memories. Eric loved sports and he played baseball. Growing up, even though he was [00:04:00] kind of a smaller kid, he got underestimated at first sometimes, but when he stepped up to the plate, he would just blow everybody away.

Outside of that, he was a huge fan of Georgia sports teams, including the Bulldogs, the Falcons, and the Braves. On top of being a generally great guy, Eric also had a serious style from a young age with the help of his sister Kathy. Eric was always dressed to the nines. He was known for wearing sharp, tailored suits and always finishing his look with a perfect hat.

I love this kid. This is amazing. Amazing. This is so cool though. He wasn't the biggest guy in the world, as Mandy was saying, he carried himself like he was 10 feet tall. His confidence is really something that made him unforgettable. Eric was a people person who loved everyone he met in a genuine way and always wanted to help.

Those in need. His mom shared a story about how Eric once bought a pair of shoes for this woman just because she needed them. He was extremely kindhearted and generous, and very aware of others, and considerate of what he could do to [00:05:00] lift them up. And of course, it's no surprise that KA would describe Eric as the life of the party.

Not in a wild or reckless way, but in a way that made people want to be around him. After graduating from Carver High School in Columbus in 1989, Eric was ready to chase bigger dreams. He enrolled at DeVry University in Atlanta, where he studied computers and electronics, which of course was really no surprise to anyone who knew how much he loved taking electronics apart just to see how they worked.

That's a case when, you know, when you look back on that story of the Atari, you know, his mom's gotta be like, okay, yeah, we all, we always saw this. He knew what he was doing right, but college wasn't easy, especially financially. Eric's family had to be practical about what they could afford, and DeVry did come with a hefty price tag.

When that became too much, Eric made the decision to join the army. During his time in service, Eric was stationed at various bases from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to Fort Benning in Georgia and Fort [00:06:00] Campbell in Kentucky. Eric also spent time stationed overseas in Germany and served during the Persian Gulf War.

Annie said that he earned multiple medals during his military career, and he excelled during training. He was a very skilled, focused, and determined marksman. One of Kathy's proudest moments as his sister was when Eric went through the prestigious Airborne School at Fort Benning. This school is known for producing elite infantry soldiers, but the training there is tough.

It's really designed to push you mentally and physically with the goal of turning out strong and resilient leaders. The day Eric graduated was a very special day for his family. Kathy remembers the day vividly as part of the ceremony. I love this. Eric had to parachute from a plane and Kathy was just in awe that her little baby brother had done something so incredible.

That's a graduation you wanna go to, right? For sure. Like I've been to some pretty boring ones. Yeah. If you tell me somebody's jumping from a plane, I'm there. [00:07:00] So when he received his beret, Kathy gave him the biggest hug and told him how proud she was that he was now part of such an elite squad. As with every other part of his life.

The people in the military were also very drawn to Eric. His presence and energy and his big heart made a lasting impression. After his time in the army, several fellow soldiers reached out to Kath and the rest of Eric's family, just to let them know how much Eric had meant to them and what a genuinely great guy he was.

Eric returned home to Columbus and began working as a forklift driver at Kodak Polychrome. It was a change of pace from his action pack time in the Army, but it was steady work, and Eric always showed up to this job with the same positive energy that he brought along with him everywhere he went. In 1994, Eric married his first wife, and the couple had a son together named Antonio when he and his wife divorced in 1999, Antonio stayed in Kentucky with his mom, and Eric did his best to stay involved in his son's life.

Being present for his child was something that [00:08:00] really mattered to Eric. Later, Eric met and married his second wife. She had two children of her own, and they all built a life in Phoenix City, Alabama. They moved into a house on level court, which was a quiet cul-de-sac in the Carpenter's Way subdivision.

This neighborhood was perfect for someone like Eric, who really thrived when he was surrounded by people. It was the kind of neighborhood where there were kids playing in the street and everyone knew each other. Since Eric was stationed at Fort Benning, he wasn't far from who lived right across the border in Columbus, Georgia.

At the time, Kathy was working night shifts at the emergency room and raising two young kids of her own. She was always running on fumes, but Eric would step in to help without any hesitation. If he heard one of the kids crying or fussing, he would pick them up. He would change diapers, make bottles, or just do whatever it was that needed to be done without even being asked.

Eric's niece and nephew loved him to pieces, but they had a special [00:09:00] bond with Kath's daughter Takia. Eric was more like a father figure to his sister's kids. Takia later said that Eric always showed up for them and he was very involved. Eric actually taught Takia how to dance, even though she said she had no rhythm.

Eric actually loved to dance at their cousin's wedding. He danced the entire night, which became an unforgettable memory for the family. He also taught her how to cook. Eric was also a father figure to Kathy's son Vincent. Vincent remembers Eric as being a dependable presence who came through when you needed him.

Eric always had a way of making people feel seen and supported, and it wasn't just his family. Eric was devoted to his community as well. He took care of anyone in need and always showed up with the same loving and dependable energy for everyone in his life. He worked hard, but he knew how to enjoy the little things in life.

Vincent said that Eric was the example for how to live with integrity, how to be kind and generous. Eric's love for cars is [00:10:00] something his family will never forget, but especially when it came to how much Eric actually loved his own truck, which was a big Dodge Ram at 1500. It was loud, flashy, and impossible to miss, which was perfect for Eric.

He could be heard blasting music from blocks away, just living his life, happy and carefree. Eric's music taste varied from rap to r and b and old school soul. He and Kathy had grown up listening to their mom's vinyl records from the seventies, and that love of music stuck with them for life. Even now when Eric's family and loved ones listen to music, they think fondly of him and how much he would've loved it and how he would've been dancing all around.

On the morning of September 26th, everything changed and we're gonna get into what happened after a quick break to hear work from this week's sponsors. Before the break, we introduced you to Eric Nellum. He was a joyful, charismatic man who lived his life with purpose. From his childhood in Columbus, Georgia to his time in the Army and his role as a [00:11:00] father, brother, and friend, Eric was someone who truly made an impact on everyone around him.

He loved deeply. He showed up for his family, and he was known for his style, his smile, and his music. That was always playing. But on the morning of September 26th, 2003, everything changed. It was just before 5:30 AM when 3-year-old, Eric stepped outside of his home in Phoenix City, Alabama. He was headed off to work that morning and it was a normal day.

Eric walked out to his truck, which was parked under the carport, but before he could even get inside, he was ambushed and gunned down right there in his driveway. Eric's wife called 9 1 1 to report the shooting at around 5:30 AM when officers arrived. They found that Eric had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Eric's mom, Annie wasn't notified by the police, but instead it was her sister who called to deliver the news that no mother should ever hear. [00:12:00] At first, Annie couldn't believe it, but as she made her way to Eric's house, it all started to sink in, and when she arrived, her worst fears were confirmed.

Eric was lying dead in the driveway. Phoenix City Police began their investigation immediately and collected several pieces of evidence from the scene, including bullet casings and what they believed to be latent fingerprints on Eric's truck. Unfortunately though, none of that evidence ended up leading anywhere.

Police noted that nothing had been stolen and Eric still had his belongings with him. His truck wasn't broken into, and his wallet and phone were left untouched. So it didn't appear that robbery was the motive. There was one witness who saw what happened. A neighbor who said there were two men involved.

She was able to recall their general body types, clothing and overall appearance, and said she saw them run to a black car and flee the scene after the shooting, but she wasn't able to describe their [00:13:00] faces. I think being able to do body type clothing and overall appearance, I am. Shocked and very impressed, especially at five.

Get on am. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It just to be able to put what's going on during that time, like putting together the pieces of what I'm actually seeing and being able to keep that is quite impressive, I think. But Eric's murder left a lot more questions than answers as word spread. So did the suspicion and it didn't take long before Eric's family had a feeling about who might have been involved.

Suspicion centered around a couple named Eric and Stephanie Cowling. To keep things as clear as possible, we'll just refer to Eric Cowling as Stephanie's husband so we don't get him confused with our victim. Eric Nelms. Eric's family believed the Cowlings had strong motives and the timing felt too coincidental.

As it turned out, right before Eric was killed, the Cowlings had been caught up in an embezzlement scheme, and when things started to come to light, they tried to pin the [00:14:00] entire thing on Eric. Eric didn't even work at either of the companies involved. Court documents showed that between July of 2000 and May of 2002, Stephanie Cowling worked as a linehaul manager at Excel Direct Incorporated, but she was eventually fired for what the company said were performance related issues.

Not long after that, she got a new job as a domestic manager at DHL where she worked until September of 2003, which again was the same month that Eric was murdered. During both of these jobs, Stephanie and her husband orchestrated an elaborate scheme to defraud both of these companies. They created fake vendor accounts using third parties who had nothing to even do with trucking, and then they submitted bogus freight bills to collect payment.

These companies thought they were paying legitimate shipping invoices and mailed out checks, which the cowlings would then split with the third party vendors, but of course, taking the lion's share for themselves and one of those third [00:15:00] party names. Was Eric Nelms. Stephanie's husband is actually the one who approached Eric and asked him to be involved in this scheme.

And for reasons that Eric's family still really struggles to understand, Eric agreed to it. Eric's family doesn't believe he did this for greed. They think it was actually out of necessity and in an effort to survive really. Eric did have bills. He drove a used truck and he was trying to support a blended family and help his loved ones whenever he could.

He worked very hard, but sometimes the money just wasn't enough to cover everything. But according to Kathy, Eric's involvement in this scheme didn't appear to bring him any big windfall, and he certainly didn't start living a lavish lifestyle. Kath believes that if Eric had come into a significant amount of money, he would've used it to help their mom or to ease her financial burdens.

That's just the type of person he was. To Eric's family, it seemed as though Eric had gotten caught up in something that he shouldn't have been [00:16:00] involved in, and when the walls started to close in on the cowlings, they panicked and tried to throw Eric under the bus. Not long after that, Eric was shot dead.

As it turned out, the embezzlement scheme had started to unravel just days before Eric's murder. The first company to notice what was going on was DHL. Stephanie had been working as a domestic manager and during a routine internal audit, another employee named Wade Sorenson noticed some significant discrepancies.

What he noticed were duplicate entries. These were services that had already been provided by these known legitimate vendors, as well as charges made to a vendor. No one had ever heard of, including someone named Erie. Nellum, not Eric, it was ERIE. So this is not a registered vendor, and naturally, DHL was tipped off that something strange must be going on.

So this guy, Wade escalated his findings to his regional [00:17:00] manager, Mike Guinness, who then reached out to Stephanie right away. And so this is around September 21st, 2003, which is just five days before Eric's murder. Mike asked Stephanie if she knew who Eerie Nelms was and why there were no invoices on file.

Stephanie provided a vague response and said she knew who it was, but she needed time to gather some paperwork before they could talk further. Then she simply left work and never went back. When Stephanie's boss searched her office, he found nothing to support that. Erie Nellum had ever been a legitimate vendor.

There were no documents or supporting files, nothing. Stephanie had been taking real invoices from a local Atlanta vendor complete with shipping dates, weights, and house air bill numbers. And she copied them almost exactly. But instead of using the legitimate vendor's name, she would change the name to.

Scary Nels. Then Stephanie would manually approve these fraudulent invoices in the system, prompting the [00:18:00] finance department to send out payments, which were then mailed to Eric. Eric would then cast the checks and hand the majority of the money back over to Stephanie, who would then destroy and remove the original real invoices to cover her tracks.

This is quite a little system she had going on. Every time there's a financial scam in a story that we talk about, I always feel like. I just don't understand like how people come up with these things and how they pull them off. I guess it's just a matter of, uh, you know, having access to and knowing the internal system well enough to know like how you could scam it.

Because to me I'm like, how did you even come up with this? Like, this is crazy. I know. This scheme had gone on for years By the time that DHL discovered it, when they realized what was happening, they reached out to Excel where Stephanie had worked before and learned that there was a similar pattern of fraud there too.

Three days before Eric was killed, on September 23rd, Stephanie and her husband arranged [00:19:00] a meeting with Eric and his wife. This meeting was allegedly to get everyone on the same page before DHL Security team started conducting their interviews. During the meeting, Stephanie gave Eric two pieces of paperwork.

One was a fake freight bill in the amount of $2,900. It had Eric's name and Stephanie's own signature on it. And the second piece of paperwork was a handwritten like cheat sheet with trucking terminology and billing phrases, as well as some key DHL contacts, which is all information that would have been helpful and make it look like Eric was a legitimate vendor even though he wasn't.

This paperwork was actually later found in Eric's home after he was murdered. Stephanie also pressured Eric to take the blame and to go along with the story and keep things consistent to hopefully prevent things from escalating any further. But Eric resisted that just wasn't the kind of guy he was. He didn't wanna lie, and he didn't wanna risk going down for something that he wasn't fully responsible for himself.[00:20:00] 

After meeting with Stephanie, Eric called his sister Kathy and confided in her about what was going on, and he explained how serious this whole situation felt and just how much pressure he was under. Stephanie didn't realize was that her previous employer, XL, had also been informed about her fraudulent activity at DHL.

Up until that point, XL had never even suspected Stephanie of anything, but that quickly changed when her former supervisor, Beth, took a closer look at Stephanie's past work and what she found was alarming. She discovered that Stephanie had created fake paperwork and used Excel's internal systems to push through phony invoices just like she was doing at DHL.

Wild. So Beth explained that the standard process at Excel was to bill shipments at the time the load was shipped. So the billing process would generate a manifest, which warehouse workers would use to track and confirm the shipment. But Stephanie had bypassed that entire step. So what she would do is she would wait until after the [00:21:00] invoices were received.

Then enter the billing manually so there was no manifest, no verification, and no way for the warehouse team to know if the shipment had ever even happened. Stephanie also submitted multiple invoices in Eric's name for deliveries that never happened. In some cases, the orders have been canceled before they were even scheduled to ship, but that didn't stop Stephanie.

She just override the system, alter the original shipping destinations and inflate the charges all to maximize the amount of money that could be paid out. Beth later testified to this day, she doesn't know how Stephanie was able to manipulate the system to make Eric appear as the legitimate vendor in the first place.

That part of the fraud was so deep in the system that even excel's own people couldn't unravel it. In total, Stephanie and her husband stole $453,054 and 40 cents from DHL and XL. Combined that would be over $800,000. Today, Eric's family [00:22:00] believed it was crystal clear that the Cowlings had the motive and the opportunity to murder Eric.

Unfortunately the police didn't seem to connect these dots, and we still have more to get into after one last break to hear word from this week's sponsors. Before the break, we covered the morning of Eric's murder, how he was ambushed and gunned down in his driveway just before heading to work. And despite early evidence and a witness who did see two suspects flee from the scene, no arrests were ever made.

Eric's family quickly suspected Stephanie Cowling and her husband, uh, a couple who had just been caught in this elaborate fraud scheme and had tried to blame this plan on Eric. Court documents and internal audits revealed years of embezzlement involving fake invoices, fraudulent vendors, and over $450,000 stolen between two companies.

And just three days before Eric was killed, the Cowlings met with him and pressured him to take the fall. For all of this, Eric refused, and days later, he was dead. So now let's get into what [00:23:00] happened next and how the case began to unravel even further. So according to Eric's family, the investigators never seriously pursued the Cowlings as potential suspects.

They never dug into the timelines or questioned those who were involved at all. And if they had, they would've discovered that those potential suspects were actually in Phoenix City on the day of Eric's murder. And that would have, or should have raised red flags because Eric was the only person who lived in Phoenix City or had any reason to be there.

The others were actually based in Atlanta. Eric's family believes this is a major failure in the investigation, and that things may have gone differently if the police had taken this seriously. The case was also more complicated due to issues of jurisdiction, which we do see, and it is so frustrating when this happens.

But Eric's murder was being investigated by the Phoenix City Police Department while the embezzlement case involving the Cowlings was being handled by a completely different agency, and those two agencies weren't communicating with each other at all. [00:24:00] After Eric's death, investigators working the fraud case searched the cowlings home and found a gun.

But since they were only focused on investigating the white collar crime, they did not have the weapon tested for fingerprints or ballistics, which again, if they were communicating with the other police department, that probably would've been something that would've gotten done right. Eric's family believes the gun could have been the key to solving the case, but instead it just became another dead end.

To add insult to injury. Eric's mom, Annie said that the police treated them poorly. At one point, she tried to tell the police about a conversation she had with Eric just 48 hours before he was killed. He said something that she believed was important, but the investigators took days to get back to her, and by then, valuable time had passed and the case was already starting to cool off.

Despite the mounting circumstantial evidence, the questionable timing, the fact that the cowlings were in the area on the day of the murder, still no arrests were made. Nobody was ever charged with the murder, and eventually the [00:25:00] case went completely cold. While Eric's murder case remained unsolved, the fraud case did continue to move forward.

In May of 2006, nearly three years after Eric was shot, a federal grand jury returned a 60 count indictment against the Cowlings. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, as well as multiple counts of wire and mail fraud. They were also charged with transporting fraudulently obtained checks across Datelines.

Eventually, though, both of them took a plea deal. They each pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and at sentencing, the court determined that Stephanie was the mastermind behind the scheme and that she had been the one to orchestrate and manipulate the systems from the inside. She was sentenced to 42 months in prison while her husband received 36 months.

It was argued that this scheme, Stephanie was running, was sophisticated, calculated, and methodical. The judge agreed that she used her knowledge of the internal systems and of financial processes to both [00:26:00] execute and to conceal the fraud. Stephanie was ordered to pay restitution in the full amount of $453,054 and 40 cents.

She later filed an appeal arguing that her sentence shouldn't have been increased based on the sophisticated means designation. The appellate court did not agree good. They found that Stephanie's scheme was complex and involved the use of specialized knowledge. She stole almost $500,000 and defrauded two separate companies, so this is more than just a little mistake.

Both Stephanie and her husband were released in 2009, but Eric Nelly's family still has no justice for his murder. As time passed and the official investigation stalled, Eric's family couldn't sit back and wait any longer. They began conducting their own investigation and piecing together everything they knew, everything they'd been told and everything that just didn't sit right with them.

To this day, they still firmly believe that the people involved in the fraud scheme [00:27:00] are the same people involved in Eric's murder. Over time, however, a different theory did start to take shape. There have been persistent rumors, both in Columbus and Phoenix City, suggesting that Eric's wife may have played a role in what happened before he was killed.

Eric had confided in both Annie and Kathy that his marriage was not going well and their relationship was in trouble. He had allegedly asked his wife to move out, and she did. Eric even changed the locks on the house, but then about a week before he was killed, the couple reconciled and his wife moved back in.

At first, the family was confused by the timing, but the more they learned, the more they wondered if maybe the reconciliation was actually part of something else. Now the family is open to the idea that Eric's wife might have been involved in some way, maybe not as the shooter, but possibly as someone who provided information.

She did know Eric's routines and his schedule and what time he left for work in the morning. [00:28:00] Eric's mom said in an interview, someone that knew Eric's schedule had to tell somebody else what time he came out there to crank it up because they were there before he came out the door, so they were sitting ready.

The family also thinks Eric's wife may have had her own motives. If Eric divorced her. She risked losing access to the money from the embezzlement scheme, and if she had known about the fraud, there was always the possibility that she herself could be implicated. According to the family, Eric's wife did know about the fraud.

She was present at that meeting on September 23rd when the Cowlings tried to convince Eric to take the blame. But still, Kath of course, holds onto hope that Eric's wife had nothing to do with it. Of course, they feel that Eric's wife is like family to them, so Right. That's the last thing that they would want to think.

Kathy has never stopped fighting for the truth about what happened to her brother. Years after he was killed, she took another bold step and reached out to a group called Iris Investigative Strategies. This organization is made up of [00:29:00] retired law enforcement officers, forensic and behavioral analysis.

Geo profilers and other criminal justice professionals. Kathy wasn't even hoping for them to solve the case. She just wanted some clarity and to know for sure that nothing more could be done. She wanted to hear this from an unbiased team who could verify that every lead had been exhausted, and to their credit, Iris was very interested in Eric's case.

Before they could move forward, they needed to access Eric's official case file from the Phoenix City Police Department, and that's where things hit a wall. The police department declined to release the file and claimed it was because of an active lead that they had received in 2024. The family said nothing came of that lead.

Kathy offered to have Iris sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the integrity of the case, but the answer was still no. Kathy met with the DA of Russell County and spoke with the captain overseeing the case, but despite her pleas, the department wouldn't budge. The [00:30:00] family can't really understand why the police department, which is a small police department, wouldn't want to accept help from outside experts with decades of experience.

They think the police are hesitant to release the file because it might reveal something they don't want known, such as how bad the investigation was handled early on. But Eric's family just wants to know who killed him and why. Sadly, authorities have continued to put up barriers between Eric's family and the answers they deserve.

They continue to work on strengthening their relationship with investigators anyway because they refuse to give up on finding answers. As of today, it's been more than two decades since Eric was killed in his own driveway, but his loved ones have never stopped fighting for answers. Eric's children chose to follow in his footsteps.

His son and stepdaughter both decided to honor his legacy by joining the Army. Eric lived a life that made them want to embody bravery, loyalty, and a willingness to serve something bigger than themselves. [00:31:00] Unfortunately, law enforcement still has not provided the closure that they hoped for, and they insist that the case is still open in 2024.

A statement to the citizen of East Alabama revealed that investigators had long considered two possible motives. One was white collar crime and the other is foul play. They acknowledged that, that there is reasonable suspicion of a murder for higher plot. Authorities reported that the last significant progress in the case was in March of 2024, but they said that no case ever truly goes cold in their department.

They might go dormant for a while, but the police say they continue to talk to people who are willing to come forward. For Eric's family, though, it doesn't matter a whole lot to them that the case is open or active because they don't feel those words hold a lot of weight when they've been waiting for so long for justice and it still feels so out of reach.

Annie has said that she hopes whoever is responsible, never knows peace, despite all the roadblocks, the Nelms family has worked tirelessly to keep Eric's [00:32:00] story alive and in the public eye. They launched a change.org petition calling on Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to open a formal investigation into Eric's case.

They've also secured billboards, done interviews and kept Eric's name circulating. In the spring of 2025, they received a grant from the Higher Hope Foundation for an additional $5,000 to add to the reward fund. The campaign has led to a renewed media interest and a fresh wave of public awareness for the case.

The question of who killed Eric has haunted his family for over 20 years. Annie still believes that someone somewhere coordinated her son's death and hired someone to do it. The family believes that it was a setup. That may have been about more than just protecting Stephanie Cowling, but also about shielding others who were involved in the fraud that might not have been named publicly.

Vincent wants the police to dig deeper and to make people uncomfortable enough to finally tell the truth. He wants everyone involved to be held accountable, [00:33:00] not just the person who pulled the trigger, but anyone who played any role in planning, covering up or benefiting from Eric's death. For years, Kathy and the rest of their family lived in fear of retaliation, fear of saying the wrong things, or just fear of drawing attention to themselves by pushing too hard for justice.

They really didn't know who to trust or who was on their side. Kathy hopes the people responsible have that same fear and are constantly looking over their shoulder and wondering if the truth is finally about to catch up to them. But the grief remains as strong as ever. Kathy wants people to remember that Eric was kind, loyal, funny, and thoughtful.

So many people looked up to him and cherished him. He made one mistake, but he didn't deserve to be taken from them. And if you're looking for ways you can help the family, we have a few we'll have in our show notes. If you have any information, you can contact Alabama Crime Stoppers at 3 3 4 2 1 5. Stop.

They also have an online form and you can contact the Phoenix City Police Department at [00:34:00] 3 3 4 4 4 8 2800 and in our show notes we'll have the email address as well. There's a $15,000 reward that's being offered for arrest and conviction in this case. Other ways you can help if families asking that people continue sharing Eric's story so that justice may be served someday.

They wanna keep his name out there so no one will forget him. Also in the show notes, we'll have a, a link to the petition that the family has put together as well as where you can find them on social media and their link tree with all of that information. We just, of course wanna say a very special thank you to Haley who worked on this episode.

Um, and she was able to work directly with Eric's mom and his sister as well as his nephew and niece. And, um, we are always so appreciative when we are able to get the family to help tell the story. And Eric truly does sound like such an amazing person and an amazing guy, and this family absolutely deserves answers.

So thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. And that is it for this [00:35:00] week. We will be back next week, same time. Time, same place. New story. Have a great week. Bye.