Edwin Todd

Edwin Joe “J.R.” Todd Jr. carried with him the easy energy of someone who loved sport, rhythm, and his family. Known as “Shaq” to friends because of his love for basketball and called “J.R.” by those closest to him, Edwin moved from Chicago to Knoxville to pursue college life and the opportunities of a new community.

Friends and family remembered him for a lively sense of humor and an interest in music — particularly drums, a passion that began in high school and through his church. He enjoyed spending time with his younger brothers and his sister; family ties were central to who he was. Those details are preserved in memorial notes from family members who described him as a fun-loving older brother who liked hanging out with friends, playing basketball, and sharing meals together.

Edwin was 23 years old when he died on April 27, 2006. The Knoxville Police Department lists him among the unsolved homicides from that year, and public memorials record his name and the year of his life as 1983–2006. In the years since his death, his family — particularly his mother — has continued to seek answers while holding on to memories of his warmth and the small everyday things that made him theirs.

Though public records about his life are limited, the details that remain — his nicknames, his love of basketball and drums, and the importance of his role as an older brother — give a sense of a young man whose presence mattered to those who knew him. This remembrance honors Edwin not by the manner of his death but by the human connections he carried and the joy he shared in music, sport, and family.