Family Mourns The Loss Of Norman Father, Killed In Shooting

Ethan Spruill has been arrested for the murder of his neighbor Aaron McCray Jr., but Thursday night as Spruill sits behind bars, it's McCray's family that is feeling trapped after what they're calling a senseless killing.

"It just doesn't, it doesn't make sense," said Aaron McCray Jr.'s girlfriend, Stephanie Grantham. "I sit on the couch, look at my kids. I see [McCray's] entire family."

Grantham thinks about the night she witnessed the murder of the father of her children.

"I lost my rock."

To most, 22-year-old Aaron McCray Jr. was known as "A.J."

"He was an amazing man and amazing father," said Grantham.

And to the ones who knew him best, like his father and grandmother, A.J. was just a big teddy bear.

"My son was a good son," said Aaron McCray Sr. "He loved to help people. He just loved to always be around people and care for them."

"He had plans to become an RN, open his own nursing home and make nursing homes better," said Grantham.

But now A.J.'s plans are left behind, along with his 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter. And it's A.J.'s family making the plans that no family wants to make. The estimated cost of the funeral is already over $15,000 and it comes just one week after another close family member's funeral. 

"It's kind of a double whammy for us and now we're trying to get through it the best we can," said McCray Sr.

With costs aside, the hardest part for the McCray family is knowing they can never hold their big teddy bear ever again.

"He's not going to get up again. He's not going to sing. He's not going to smile. He's not going to talk to me. He's just going to sit there," McCray Sr.

The McCray family has set up a fund in A.J's memory at Republic Bank. It's called "The Aaron McCray Jr. Memorial fund." If you would like to donate to the fund, you can do so at any Republic Bank across the state. The account number is 2660296.