Samuel Michel's family and friends held a memorial for him at the apartment building on 8th Street and Serrano Avenue, where he was killed.
"The grieving is hard enough. It's hard enough for our family. He leaves a brother and a sister and my husband and me. It's a hole in your heart so big you can't heal," said Deborah Michel, the victim's mother.
The aspiring musician was found stabbed to death in his apartment on April 10, 2012. Michel had been out with a friend at a nearby bar that evening. He walked home around 12:45 a.m. Neighbors heard his screams around 2:30 a.m. They reported seeing a man riding away from the building in a BMX bicycle.
Authorities have followed several leads but haven't found the killer.
"He was not into any kind of wrongdoing that we've uncovered, any kind of activity that may bring trouble to him, so at this point, we just don't know what happened to him or why," said Det. John Skaggs with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Loved ones said Michel only moved to Southern California from New York a few months before his death. They described him as a gentle soul.
Michel's family has doubled the reward money to $100,000. They believe someone in the community has information that can help solve the case.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the LAPD at (877) 527-3247.
