A Bojangles Restaurant Manager Left Work and Was Murdered in the Parking Lot. It Was the Day Before His Birthday.

A 55-year-old man was leaving his job at a fast-food restaurant in North Carolina when he was shot and killed in the parking lot.

It was the day before his birthday.

Over 14 years later, police have yet to make an arrest in the case, though they are still hopeful they can solve the murder.

Around 11:30 p.m. on June 24, 2010, Kenneth Leefe was leaving his job as a manager of a Bojangles restaurant in La Grange, North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

In the parking lot, he was shot and killed. It was the day before his 56th birthday.

Surveillance cameras from a nearby business captured the murder on video, according to investigators. The suspect drove a four-door, dark-colored Mazda 626. A motive for the murder has not been released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 559-6140. A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.

The victim’s daughter, Brandi Bittle, spoke to WITN in 2020 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the killing. She said the family hadn’t given up hope that one day the person responsible would be behind bars.

“He was probably the nicest person to everybody,” she told the news station. “Even ten years, it still gets to me.”

She said her family takes a vacation every year in late June to take their minds off the anniversary, according to WITN. She added even though Leefe never met his grandchildren, she still tells the youngsters about him.

Bittle expressed some frustration with police, given the technology of today that is used to solve other cold cases.

“What I pray for all the time is for my dad to get some justice, because he deserves it,” Bittle told WITN. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him. He didn’t.”