Friends and family of 20-year-old murder victim Matthew Piper will march down Mitchell Avenue to the spot of his death and send “messages to heaven” on his birthday Friday.

“We want all of his friends and supporters there to show their love and to honor him,” said the victim’s mother, Cherrie Piper. “It will start at 10 a.m. and will last around 45 minutes. At the end of the march, people can use markers to write messages to Matthew on helium balloons and release them. I know my son will see them. He’s dancing in the streets of gold right now with the Lord.”

Piper had left his grandmother’s apartment at 815 N. Greenwood St. to pick up a pizza about 8 p.m. Dec. 27. He later was found in the 100 block of Mitchell Avenue with several gunshot wounds and a pizza box lying beside him.

Witnesses said they saw two men drive away in a white car after the shooting. Police have no new leads or suspects.

“He had visited her apartment to pick up his Christmas presents and to help her clean some dishes like he always did,” Cherrie Piper said of her son. “He brought a movie with him that he had rented earlier. After washing her dishes, he decided to go get a pizza so they could eat while watching it together. It’s hard to believe that bringing a pizza home can get a person shot.”

Piper, who was known by friends as “Matt Matt,” frequently would walk down Mitchell Avenue and North Greenwood Street. Friday’s march will follow his footsteps of that fateful night.

“We will walk just as he did that night starting near the Chevron Station on New Franklin Road down to the 100 block of Mitchell Avenue,” said his cousin, Cindy McVay. “Also, we ordered 20 T-shirts from the Army surplus store for people to march in that read, ‘Marching for Matt Matt against violence.’ “

The shirts will be given on a first-come, first-served basis, and there will be music either by a live band from a Southern gospel music association or a boom box.

“We are currently in contact with the Gospel Music Connection,” McVay said. “If they can’t send anyone, then we will just play some of Matthew’s favorite songs and some gospel music.”

A police officer will assist the march by directing traffic at the intersection of Mitchell and Ridley avenues, Lt. Del Armstrong said.

Barricades also will be used to block off Mitchell Avenue’s connections to New Franklin Road and Banks Street.

“Parking will be available at the Chevron station (at 315 New Franklin Road) and other nearby businesses,” Armstrong said. “We want to urge people who are in attendance to be careful when crossing New Franklin Road.”

A minivan designated for wheelchair-bound Cherrie Piper will lead the march and be followed by a banner held by family members displaying pictures of Piper, McVay said.

“This could be anyone’s son or family member,” McVay said. “He was shot down viciously in the streets and we just don’t want people to forget him. He touched so many people and was loved very much. He was a gifted child with a bright future and loved to help others.”

Sometime after the march, McVay and Cherrie Piper will write a letter to the city requesting an opportunity to buy a section of the sidewalk where Piper was killed.

“We want to put his name and birth date on that sidewalk,” Cherrie Piper said. “We forgive the people who killed him. It hurts us so much, but they are the ones who will have to live with what they have done. I just wish that some people who saw it would quit being afraid and tell police who did it.”

Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information on Piper’s slaying.

Donations to increase the amount of the reward can be sent to LaGrange Crime Stoppers at 130 Sam Walker Drive, LaGrange, GA 30241. Checks should be marked “Reward money for Matthew Piper.”

— Anyone with information about the killing was asked to call Crime Stoppers at (706) 812-1000 or LaGrange police at (706) 883-2603.

Kenneth Thompson can be reached at kethompson@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.