‘I’m not going to be able to rest until I find out who killed my brother’

The sister of the 42-year-old man who was killed in Phenix City early Wednesday said the pain of losing him is so deep that she can’t put it into words.

“I’m not going to be able to rest until I find out who killed my brother,” said Montrice McClendon, Steven Mark McClendon’s older sister. “My drive is to find out who killed my brother, so that justice can be served.”

Authorities said Steven McClendon, a father of nine, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds around 3 a.m. Wednesday at Abercrombie Road and Mason Road. He was trasnported to the Columbus Midtown Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4 a.m.

Phenix City police have not identified any suspects in the case.

“I don’t know why he was killed. I don’t know if they want to kill us,” said Montrice McClendon, who has reached out to people on Facebook trying to get answers. “We don’t know anything.”

Montrice McClendon recalled the pleasant experiences she shared with her brother in the neighborhood where he was found. She smiled as she remembered how they joked around on the porch, talked about life, picked fruit and watched baseball games together.

“For all of our best memories to be here and for him to die here, it doesn’t hurt,” she said. “That part doesn’t hurt, because he died at home.”

Bria and Uniquea Upshaw described their father as a man known for his fun personality and strong fashion sense. They said he was kind to everyone.

It will bring their family some peace to know that the person or people responsible have been arrested and convicted, Bria Upshaw said.

“I’ll still be hurting, but it will still give me justice to know there’s something that’s been done about it,” Bria Upshaw said.

Uniquea Upshaw, whose sister died three years ago, said Saturday was the last time she saw her father alive. She said she would have taken a picture with him then if she knew.

“No one deserves to lose their life in a devastating way,” she said.

Authorities would like anyone with information about McClendon’s death to call Lt. Darrell “Skip” Lassiter at 334-448-2837 or Capt. George Staudinger at 334-448-2836.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 4:57 PM with the headline "‘I’m not going to be able to rest until I find out who killed my brother’."