A year has passed since police found Red Wagoner near a loading dock in downtown Salisbury —murdered, lying in his own blood, his throat cut.

Red’s sister, Joanne Mullinax, stands over her brother’s grave in the cold December rain. Her Christmas sweatshirt may seem to spread holiday cheer, but Joanne is still mourning her brother’s sudden death.

Her family is struggling to find closure to the horrific murder of their older brother.

Joanne said Salisbury Police had a suspect but “they let him go.” She, Red’s mother and his other five siblings want to know why the murderer is still free.

“My mother has gone downhill real bad since this happened,” Joanne said. “She has just given up. She blames herself because she told Red not to come to her house if he had been drinking.”

Joanne has contacted America’s Most Wanted for their help in solving the murder. “They wanted his (Red’s) blood type, and I am having a hard time getting that. I think I am going to go ahead and send it in the way it is,” she says with a glimmer of hope.

Detective Rodney Harris is working the case and is very familiar with the situation. He said someone was questioned in the murder but “at the time he wasn’t developed as a suspect. Through investigation we found that he is a suspect and that he is wanted for questioning.”

The suspect provided a false name and information to investigators, Harris said.

“All we had to go on is what he told us his name was, because he had no ID. He is a drifter and it is hard to locate someone who doesn’t have an address,” Harris said. “He doesn’t have any roots, this guy; he’s homeless.”

There are warrants on file for the suspect on unrelated crimes and Harris said Statesville Police are also looking for the man.

Joanne and her husband, Michael, think investigators are letting Red’s murder fall by the wayside because he was a street person.

“If it was an officer or a mayor, they would have found out who did it,” Michael said.

Joanne fixes a flower arrangement on Red’s grave and fights to hold back tears. “I just want to know who did it and why. He didn’t bother nobody. He was just Red.”

There are two scenarios Joanne has heard that may have led to Red’s death.

“I heard somebody was robbing Sleeping Systems and they were hiding their stuff in the warehouse on East Council Street,” she said. Red did odd jobs at the warehouse and Joanne said he “must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The other possibility Joanne describes is that another person was trying to rob Red and the suspect hit her brother on the back of the head.

Either way, Joanne said, her brother is dead and someone out there is a murderer.

“They (officers) had a lot of contact with Red and knew him, and he never bothered anybody,” Harris said.