Portland Murder Spurs FBI Reward, Mom 'Will Never Be The Same'

PORTLAND, OR —Curtis Smith arrived in Portland in late February. He had arrived from Fresno to attend the funeral of a friend. It's not known if he ever made it there. What is known is that the next funeral he attended was his own,

Around 10 on the night of February 25, police responded to Farragut Park by North Kerby Avenue.

There they found Smith. He'd been shot more than once and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 25-years-old.

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"When I think about what happened to him, how he was found in a park, I'm haunted by the thoughts of what must have went through," Smith's mother, Promise Marks, says.

"Not knowing if he saw this coming is terrifying to me. As a result of this horrible tragedy, he will never get the chance to fulfill his dreams as his life was cut short."

Marks says that while Smith told her that he was coming to Portland for a funeral, she does not know whose it was. Police have not been able to determine whose funeral it was and, along with the FBI, are asking for help.

"We need the public’s help, and we need it now." Kieran Ramsey, special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland office says, adding that the bureau is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Smith's killer or killers.

"The cycle of violence is spinning faster and faster, and the pain in our community is extreme. Our mission is to protect the people who live and work in Oregon, but we can’t do it alone."

Promise says that when her son was killed, it meant that his 4 and 5-year-old daughters will "have to grow up without their daddy. Whoever is responsible needs to be brought to justice. Somebody saw what happened and somebody knows what happened. My son didn't deserve to lose his life in this manner.

"The effect that this has had on me and my life is beyond words. I will never be the same again, and the pain of this loss I will carry with me the rest of my life."