May 6, 2009 5:08 pm US/Mountain
Friends, Family Remember Slain 7-Eleven Clerk
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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The 7-11 convenience store is located at 567 E Louisiana.
CBS
Denver police say they're following up on tips that could help solve the murder of a 7-Eleven clerk over the weekend.
Friends and family remembered 27-year-old Natnael Mulugeta Wednesday. He was an immigrant from Ethiopia.
Mulugeta and his younger sister came to Colorado to work and study. He was a clerk at the 7-Eleven located at 567 East Louisiana in Denver. His sister is a full-time college student. She is smart, articulate, but was unable to speak of the brother she adored Wednesday afternoon.
There is a language barrier, but the tears spoke clearly about the loss of a young man called "Natchee."
"He was a wonderful young man, very quiet, very polite and loving," family friend Yen Kebede said.
The small, tight community of Ethiopians has a single question -- why?
"He hasn't done anything wrong, so somebody or someone did him wrong," Kebede said.
This week Natchee's sister will take his body back to Ethiopia, to their parents. Because of Ethiopian tradition, the parents have not yet been told of Natchee's death -- not until the body arrives back in their country.
The Ethiopians aren't bitter about what happened in their adopted homeland. They are grateful to a community that has adopted them. The horror, they say, will be buried Wednesday, so they can focus on living.
Denver police say there was a surveillance camera at the time of the shooting. Police have not released any video.
Additional Resources
The local Ethiopian community is setting up a fund to help the sister of murder victim Natnael Mulugeta. CBS4 is donating $1,000 as part of the Pay It Forward program. You can make donations at any Wells Fargo bank. Mention Natnael Mulugeta's name as the fund.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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