Yeshi Leggesse had just finished styling her son's perfectly coiffed hair at a funeral home in Cincinnati Thursday – a task no mother is ever prepared to do in her lifetime.
"He likes the way I do it," Yeshi told Headlines & Global News of the time they spent together throughout the years taming his coiled tresses.
Five days passed since she and her husband learned their only child, 21-year-old Benjamin Addison, was shot to death in an apartment complex parking lot as he confronted a pair of suspects who were breaking into his car in the middle of the night, in what they suspect to be an arbitrary killing.
"He had no enemies," said Yeshi.
"This was just a random act of violence by somebody who probably has done this before, and will do it again if they're not caught," Benjamin's dad, Joe Addison, chimed.
Now, instead of planning the tight-knit family's summer vacation, the couple are putting the final touches on their son's funeral ahead of his Friday service.
"We're all just living a nightmare right now, and we just don't understand why. It's just heartbreaking," Joe said. "We wouldn't wanna wish this pain on our worst enemy."
Benjamin had just returned to an apartment complex near the University of Cincinnati following a celebratory dinner with a group of friends after one of them won a boxing match Friday, when he was fatally shot.
His friends attempted to resuscitate him while they called 911, but Benjamin succumbed to his injuries.
"Our only hope is that when he was shot that that was it right then and there. We just don't want to think that there was any suffering during the time that he was laying there on the ground next to the car," said Joe.
"I was hysterical," Yeshi recalled of the moment police knocked on their door early Saturday to tell them Benjamin was killed.
"She (the detective) said, 'Benjamin has been shot and he didn't make it,'" Joe chimed. "And from that point forward, it just became a blur. We didn't want to hear anymore. You know, you hear that your only child just got shot and murdered."
Benjamin was a junior at the University of Cincinnati, where he was studying finance and IT, but he still lived at home, allowing the family to maintain their close relationship even through Benjamin's college years. The fitness fanatic who was "loved by everyone" was looking forward to a co-op at an IT company and stepping in to be the best man at the future weddings of his two lifelong friends, Caleb and Joey, his parents said.
"Benjamin didn't meet anybody that wasn't his friend. They were just people that he hadn't met yet," Joe said of his son's charm. "He had the most beautiful smile. He was always a happy kid. He is our only child and of course we spoiled him and gave him everything. But he was so grateful."
No arrests have been made in Benjamin's slaying. The couple said investigators have been tight-lipped as they work to pursue their son's killer.
The Cincinnati Police Department did not immediately respond to Headlines & Global News' request for comment.
"We are just praying that they find the person that's responsible for this and gets them off the streets so that they don't do this again," said Joe, adding they've been relying heavily on their faith to get them through this difficult time.
"That is what comforts us," said Yeshi.
"One thing we do know is that Benjamin is with Jesus, right now," Joe assured. "He's in heaven, and one day we are going to be with him again."
