AZ AZ - Nathan DeWitt, 23, Phoenix, 25 Dec 2012

Police search for clues in Valley yo-yo champion Nathan DeWitt's death (abc15.com)

PHOENIX - Police are looking for a suspect in a shooting that killed a 23-year-old Phoenix man who was a well-known yo-yo champion.

Police and Phoenix Fire crews responded to a rollover crash near 28th Street and Bell Road late Christmas night and found an SUV on its side. They say Nathan DeWitt crawled out of the vehicle and said "I've been shot."
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DeWitt was well-known for performing yo-yo tricks and for winning competitions in the Valley and in Washington where he once lived.

He crashed just a couple blocks from his parents' home where police said he lived.
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A family member would not go on camera but seemed baffled by what happened, saying that they had been with DeWitt earlier in the day and that there was a relatively short period of time prior to the shooting that they were unaware of his whereabouts.
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more, with a video, at the link

My heart broke reading the thread on a Yo-Yo forum. One person said they threw a sleeper in his honor and let it spin until it stopped.




http://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php?topic=53537.msg541632;topicseen

From December 2013:

http://www.azfamily.com/story/28375365/family-pleads-for-answers-one-year-after-christmas-murder

Nathan DeWitt, 23, was shot and killed on Christmas night, 2012. It was a murder made even more devastating by the fact that it’s still unsolved...

Tonya DeWitt said the neighbor who tried to save him, recalled Nathan saying, ‘I cannot believe they shot me.’

No persons of interest or suspects have been named in the case. It’s not known whether DeWitt knew his killer. Loved ones say it’s hard to imagine who would have wanted to hurt DeWitt, described as a kind and gentle soul, known for his love and skill with the yo-yo.

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http://ktar.com/story/279565/authorities-searching-for-suspect-in-phoenix-murder-of-yo-yo-champion/

BY JAYME WEST | APRIL 1, 2019 AT 4:45 AM
UPDATED: APRIL 1, 2019 AT 7:44 AM


Videos of 23-year-old Nathan DeWitt are all over YouTube.

“He was a yo-yo national champion,” said Nathan’s stepmother, Tonya DeWitt. “He worked in a yo-yo factory for a while. He liked to go to schools and teach kids about yo-yoing. He was very passionate about it.”

Nathan was the oldest of four children and worked at Starbucks. In fact, he was killed the day before he was supposed to be promoted to manager.

Nathan died on Christmas Day, Dec. 25., 2012.

“It was about 11:30 p.m. when officers responded to what they thought was a single vehicle accident near Union Hills and 28th Street,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Darren Burch. “Instead, they found Nathan had been shot to death.”

It appears Nathan may have gotten out of his vehicle, been shot, then got back into his car and tried to drive away.