Originally published January 29, 2015, in Arkansas Times
By David Koon | Reprinted with permission
TC and Mike enjoying one of many adventures in the years prior to TC’s death in 2014. Prior to TC’s homicide, Mike already had been working on a documentary about TC’s life and love of all things heavy metal, and they went on many adventures together – mostly related to rock music and film.
The best friend of Little Rock musician TC Edwards, who was killed on December 7 in Little Rock, said that $5,000 in donations left over after Edwards’ funeral service and burial have been put toward a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Edwards’ killer. That brings the total amount of rewards offered for information in the case to $6,000.
Edwards was found dead from a gunshot wound at 2221 Howard Street in Little Rock at around 4 a.m. on Dec. 7. He was 40 years old. Edwards, who friends say was mildly autistic, was a long-time fixture in Little Rock’s music scene over the past 20 years. Edwards’ friend Mike Poe was in the process of making a documentary about Edwards when Edwards was killed. The outpouring of grief as news of Edwards’ death spread was immediate.
Using funds raised through crowdsourcing, Poe said Edwards’ friends were able to give him a “rock star funeral,” with almost exactly $5,000 left over. Poe hopes that putting the additional money into a reward fund will help lead to an arrest. In addition, the Little Rock Police Department’s Crimestoppers program has announced they will offer up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Poe said he is in frequent contact with the detectives on the case, who they tell him they’ve “very confident” that a suspect will be apprehended.
“[The Crimestoppers reward is] up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest,” Poe said, “and our $5,000 will be for information leading to the arrest and conviction… The detectives said that the $5,000 additional reward would be a huge help. They said that anybody who knows something would potentially turn on [the killer] for that kind of money.”
Anyone with information about the murder of TC Edwards should call LRPD Crimestoppers hotline at (501)371-4636.