Dallas family still struggling with the aftermath of the murder of a teenager outside their home in February

This story is part of The Dallas Morning News Murder Project focused on sharing the stories of all the people killed in Dallas in 2024.

Ja’Marcus Deshaun Smith wanted a car. The 16-year-old was saving up to fix his father’s old Escalade SUV. If he could get the transmission replaced, it was his. He always asked his neighbors if he could take out their trash for a few dollars.

“The day he was killed, he had about – well … murdered – about $300 or $400 in his pocket,” said Howard Sanders, Ja’Marcus’ grandfather.

The teenager was shot outside his family’s South Dallas home on February 16. Another 16-year-old was arrested. His name was not released because of his age.

Sanders said there were rumors the two teens had argued over the lyrics of a rap song Ja’Marcus had written. Ja’Marcus’ 15-year-old girlfriend was shot in the leg and survived, Sanders said.

Howard and Carolyn Sanders are in their 60s. Everyone calls them Papa and Grandma. They even call each other that. Howard Sanders remembers someone once asking Ja’Marcus what his grandfather’s real name was and he had no idea. The only thing he ever heard from him was Papa.

They had raised Ja’Marcus since he was seven years old, along with his brothers, now 11 and 12, and his sister Brandlyn, 20. Howard Sanders suffers from Parkinson’s disease and Ja’Marcus helped him with housework.

Brandlyn was the only sibling home when Ja’Marcus died. She called 911. Although she still lives in the apartment, the two boys are having a hard time coming back.

“They’re afraid to even be here,” said Carolyn Sanders. The younger one wants the door locked and starts shaking when he comes to visit.

Nevertheless, on Father’s Day the grandchildren brought balloons and a picture frame for Howard Sanders into the apartment.

Ja’Marcus’ old bedroom is small. Most of his things are stored in boxes, pushed aside and lined up against the walls. The grandparents have hung a photo of Ja’Marcus on the wall, with angel wings on it.

Ja’Marcus loved painting his own designs on shoes and composing rap songs with his friends. He invited them over and served them food. He cooked nachos, poured glasses of Minute Maid lemonade, made snow cones, boiled Cajun boudin balls, and warmed up cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes and chilies. He delivered plates to the homeless at the car wash near the apartment.

“He didn’t meet strangers,” said Howard Sanders.

He is used to guns. He served in the Army for more than ten years but was not allowed a gun in his home. Ja’Marcus had been threatened with a gun before when he was 15 and wanted one to protect himself.

“Yeah, Marcus, a gun can’t protect you,” Sanders told him. “You have to protect yourself. … Once you pull the trigger, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Every day since February, Sanders has walked past the bullet holes that killed his grandson. They are visible throughout the wall leading to the apartment door, a constant reminder of the day Ja’Marcus was killed.

“He took his last breath in my arms,” he said.

Now, when he leaves the apartment, he sometimes goes in the other direction to avoid the spot in the hallway where it happened.

“It just hurts to come here,” Sanders said. “Sometimes you can just see the image of him just laying there. I wish I could block it out.”