For most people, a trip to Fort Lauderdale in January is a fun-filled escape from harsh winter weather. For Debbie Lawrence, it’s a somber pilgrimage to revisit the most traumatic event of her life: the murder of her child. 

“He loved me and I loved him. I was going to retire here. We had it all planned out,” Lawrence said. She is the mother of Jason Marous, a man who was shot and killed on Jan. 6, 2023. His murder remains unsolved. 

Marous moved to South Florida from a Cleveland, Ohio suburb in 2014 because he believed he would be able to live his best life as an out gay man. And for nearly nine years, he did. Marous was valued professionally for his skill as a carpenter and contractor, and valued personally for his kindness and love. 

“Everyone said he’s a great guy. How giving he was, how fun he was,” Lawrence told OutSFL during her annual trip to Fort Lauderdale. 

Marous had just turned 36 and was planning to meet up with his boyfriend at Eagle around midnight. When Marous didn’t show up, the boyfriend went to his Middle River Terrace apartment and eventually found him in his car, dead from a gunshot wound. Police believe he had been dead about three hours. 

(The boyfriend had a husband, but the marriage is said to have been an open relationship. Detectives quickly cleared both.) 

Investigators eventually found surveillance video of a person following Marous. The person, officially considered a “person of interest,” wore clothes that made him hard to identify, but Lawrence says he had a very distinct walk. 

Despite the offer of a $50,000 reward, the person has still not been identified. 

A Mother’s Determination 

Lawrence comes down every January to meet with investigators and the media to remind them her son’s killer has never been identified. She’s been active in the investigation from the beginning. 

“I went through his phone, couldn’t find anything. I know everything but couldn’t find anything.” 

Detectives told her last year that the case was officially going “cold,” but are still on the lookout for new clues that could break the case. Lawrence agrees with investigators that this was a random act. 

“I’m happy to know [detectives] love my son so much. We felt so bad a random person took his life.” 

Ted Theophylactos, Marous’ lifelong friend, says it’s the randomness that makes it even more unbearable. “We can’t get closure in such a random murder. It’s really hard to move on when someone is taken from you in a violent way.” 

The murder continues to take a growing toll on Lawrence’s family. Her other children have grown estranged from the strain of the case. 

But Lawrence will not be deterred and will pursue justice as only a mother can. 

“He got killed because it was a random act. If there’s more, I’ll find it.”