For the first time tonight Cherie Grubbs is talking to the media about her son, David Grubbs. He’s the 23-year-old Ashland man who was murdered on the bike path in Ashland near Hunter Park on November 19, 2011. Grubbs would have turned 26 this Saturday.
His murder shocked the entire community when police say someone nearly decapitated him two years ago. The case has since gone cold.
David Grubb’s Mother: “The reality has sunk in.”
Still, two years later, life is still a struggle for David’s mom Cherie Grubbs.
“The first thought I have when I open my eyes in the morning is David is dead. He’s gone,” she said in a soft voice.
“The second year has been I think harder because now the reality has sunk in. He’s really gone, he was really murdered brutally, randomly and he’s not coming back.”
Remembering David Grubbs
Davids mother is breaking her silence after two years because she says she doesn’t want her son forgotten.
“I miss his kindness and he’s my baby boy and I couldn’t have asked for a better son.”
She says investigators also noticed a trend when they asked people questions about David.
“The police say they’ve talked to thousands of witnesses and I was told that it was the first time in police history or possibly FBI history that they couldn’t find a single person to say anything negative about him,” she said.
A Call for Justice
But despite the fact that he was well loved, two years ago he was killed. Police say a roughly foot long knife was used in his murder.
“I want this person to get caught and sit in a prison cell for the rest of his life, die in prison and then face whatever comes afterwards,” said Cherie.
While she said she wants justice for her son’s killing, she’s not consumed by it.
“I don’t want this person to do this to somebody else. But that being said, it’s not going to change anything,” she said.
“After it happened, I dreamed of finding this person and looking him in the eyes and saying why, why did you do this and why David But I realize now that there’s nothing this person could say that would change anything,” she continued.
If the suspect is ever caught and sentenced, she said she would be against the death penalty because David would not want someone killed in his name.
A Million Memories
However with no suspects in custody, Cherie’s only comfort are the good memories she shared with her son.
“He never outgrew his love for his mom. He was 6’4″ and we would walk down the street together and he would drape his arm around my shoulder,” she recalled.
She says she has a million small, joyful, memories of the son she describes as kind, gentle and fun loving…but still no closure.
“People talk about closure. It’ll never be closed as long as David is gone, it will never be closed […] I love him so much and I can’t believe he’s gone.”
Cherie said she doesn’t know how she’s going to survive the next couple of months, with David’s birthday this weekend, Thanksgiving, then Christmas.
A Celebration of Life, Benefiting Kids with Love of Music
On Saturday, November 23rd there will be a birthday party to celebrate David Grubbs’ life. It will be held at Club 66 in Ashland from 11am-6pm. The money made will benefit the David Grubbs Music Scholarship at Ashland High School.
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