July 22, 2024 | By: Ella Harmon

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

The day before one of the biggest family holidays in of the year, Lakia Mack and her family were prepping for the Thanksgiving meal they would share. At about 6 am, on November 27, 2013, she received a phone call that would forever change her life. Her younger brother, Quantrell Keller, had been murdered the evening before in Holiday, Florida. His murder remains unsolved.

Quantrell and his sisters Lakia Sellers Mack and Latonya Sellers grew up with their parents on the outskirts of Tampa, Florida. One of Lakia’s favorite memories involving Quantrell is teaching him to ride a bike and reading books to him almost every night. Lakia was five years older than Quantrell and they had an older sister who is three years older than Lakia.

“I felt like I was his protector growing up,” said Lakia. Whenever Quantrell got into a neighborhood argument, Lakia would be there to defend him.

Lakia describes Quantrell as having a larger-than-life personality “He was always 100% himself. He could walk into any room and make anyone laugh,” said Lakia. He had an easy smile and eyes that twinkled like he wanted everyone to be in on the joke.

Growing up as the only boy, Quantrell felt as though he had to be extra masculine, said Lakia. He played football and basketball and was very adventurous and sneaky. He was always testing the limits. Quantrell would sneak onto the roof and find out if he could jump down without getting hurt, she said.

The area where he lived, Holiday, Florida has a violent crime rate of 31.4, significantly higher than the U.S. average of 22.7. Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 100 (high crime.) Quantrell was not unknown to the police, but Lakia said Quantrell had been working at Buffalo Wild Wings and trying to figure out his future.

Since Quantrell died at a young age, he didn’t have much time to develop goals and dreams, said Lakia.

On the night of his murder, Quatrell was in his house. Someone knocked at the door around 10:30 p.m., and Quantrell’s roommate answered. The person asked for Quantrell, so Quantrell came to the door and the two men started having a conversation. It wasn’t an argument, and it never got heated. Then Quantrell was shot. He was found immediately because the roommate called the police when it happened.

The following day, Lakia received a call from her mom, bright and early, before the sun even came up, and she almost didn’t answer the phone. When she picked up, she heard her mom screaming, “They shot him, they shot my baby!”

Lakia said she can still feel and hear the emotions of that day.

Immediately after finding out about Quantrell’s death, Lakia felt rage, and the intensity of it surprised her. “I wasn’t even angry at the person who shot my brother. It was more like anger at the fact that he left me and now he’s just gone,” she said. “As hours passed and I began to process reality, I became more angry, angry with him, angry with myself, angry with his friends. I was angry with the world. I didn’t want to believe it, so I lived in denial until the funeral,” said Lakia.

Lakia has listened to the recording of the 911 call alerting police to the murder. When the police arrived, Quantrell’s roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend were hiding in a closet. Quantrell had been shot and was still alive. “My brother laid on the bedroom floor, bleeding and pleading for his life,” said Lakia. The police handcuffed Quantrell while he bled out on the floor, Lakia said.

“I’m not sure why they would handcuff the person who needed medical attention,” said Lakia.

Lakia still hopes for justice and remembers how much her brother is missed by all. “If I could talk to him one more time, I would tell him how loved he is, how loved he is by everyone. I would tell him he is important to so many people.”

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Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office at (727) 847-5878. To remain anonymous, and possibly be eligible for a reward, contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at (800) 873-TIPS or dial **TIPS from your mobile device.

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