SPRINGVILLE, Utah — The Springville Police Department is offering a reward to help solve a murder that happened 10 months ago.
The department announced a $5,000 reward on Wednesday for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the deadly shooting of 23-year-old Michael "Mikey" Mayer.
Mayer was shot and killed in the early hours of Nov. 18. He was reportedly being robbed at gunpoint before he was shot outside of his apartment complex at 216 S. 100 West.
"It was a huge shock. We never got to say goodbye," said Holly Thaxton, Mayer's mother. "He's so goofy. He was a big teddy bear, he loved everybody, so that's why I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt my baby."
Thaxton is still grieving and says it's been difficult not knowing who killed her son and why.
"There's no closure. The closure is going to add to the healing while I'm doing everything I can for my healing," she said. "Also, I keep thinking about, is [the shooter] out there hurting someone else? Is someone else going to die because he's still out there?"
Multiple people were temporarily detained for questioning after the shooting. One woman was charged with obstruction of justice and later pleaded guilty. Police said she was walking near the crime scene and ran away from officers when they tried to talk to her. She hid in a nearby apartment, which led to a multi-hour standoff before she was taken into custody.
Police say they believe someone out there knows what happened.
"We've done about everything that we can, and right now, we're just asking for help from the community," said Springfield Police Lt. Warren Foster. "Maybe we can get some more leads and some information that we can follow up on, and maybe even make an arrest in the case and bring some justice and help the family, bring some closure to this very sad situation and loss."
"Answers would absolutely help," Thaxton added. "Maybe someone saw something and knows something. Maybe someone didn't say anything — literally any little thing."
Anyone with information that could help the case is asked to call Detective Sgt. McCoy at 801-491-5528 or Detective Cpl. Mulford at 801-491-5554.
In a GoFundMe to help Mayer's family with funeral expenses, he was described as someone who "embodies love, selflessness and genuine kindness."
