‘I forgive them but just tell me why’: Mother of 18-year-old killed in I-64 shooting hoping to get answers in court

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The family of a man killed in a shooting on I-64 in June 2025 were in court for the first time on Monday, March 2. Court documents obtained by 8News paint a clearer picture of what led up to the murder.

18-year-old Naseem Karim King was shot while driving home from a graduation party on June 1, 2025, with two other passengers in the car.

Virginia State Police (VSP) arrested 19-year-old Troy Jefferson and 20-year-old Rahmel Stewart in January, charging them with first-degree murder and felony use of a firearm. 

They both are facing charges in separate cases for gun and drug related charges.

King's mother, Makeda King, told 8News that she wants justice for her son. Taking off work to be in court and mentally preparing to relive her son's death takes a toll on the family.

“He tried to help everybody along the way," she said. "He enjoyed life." 

Makeda wears a necklace with her son’s photo and ashes everyday. 

“I want justice for my son," she said. "‘Cause what happened to him- he didn’t deserve that. We didn’t deserve that as a family.” 

Court documents state that King and the two suspects, Stewart and Jefferson, were all at a graduation party the night he died. 

Henrico Police had been called to the party for a noise complaint, capturing Stewart’s car there with body-worn camera footage. Per court documents, police later used toll and FLOCK cameras as well as witness statements to connect him to the murder scene.

"The time it would take to travel from the crime scene to the locations where the vehicle was seen on video, matched the time of the murder," court documents state.

Police said Jefferson's cell phone records place him in the area of the party around 1:08 a.m., but it was then inactive for 10 hours. This is "consistent with being intentionally turned off," according to court documents.

Sources told police Stewart and Jefferson “bragged about the murder,” and were trying to sell the gun used to kill King, court documents said.

On Oct. 14, 2025, VSP was informed by officials in Washington D.C. that they'd recovered a weapon that "forensically matched" the murder of King. Court documents state it was a nine millimeter Glock 19x with a black frame and gold/tan slide.

When police searched Jefferson's social media, "police recovered photos/videos of Jefferson holding a firearm exactly matching the unique colors and features of the murder weapon." Court documents state the photos and videos were from May 23, May 25 and June 4.

According to court documents, "A search of Jefferson's conversations via text and social media revealed statements and conversations indicating that he was involved in the murder."

Police interviewed Jefferson twice. The first time was on Sept. 10, when "he gave varying versions of events."

"Initially, he claimed to not know the victim, that he was not involved, and that he left the graduation party with someone other than Rahmel Stewart," court documents state. "He subsequently changed his story and admitted to being with Stewart and that they left the party as soon as the victim left. He confirmed that they followed the victim and that the murder was revenge for the killing of Jefferson's and Stewart's friend."

The court documents did not indicate who the "friend" is, or if King was involved.

According to court documents, Jefferson said he was in the vehicle when King was shot, but didn't admit to being the shooter.

"Police have interviewed individuals to whom Jefferson has 1) shortly after the murder, admitted to killing someone, and 2) specifically, admitted to killing the victim in this case," court documents state.

“What did he do to you for you to act like you’re god to take his life?" Makeda, King's mother, said. “I forgive them but just tell me why.” 

It’s a journey of forgiveness she said has took her six months. It's something she said King would want her to do.

“I never saw them two young men," she said, referring to Jefferson and Stewart. "I don’t even know who they are...This Black-on-Black crime- it needs to stop.” 

Jefferson will be in court again on Thursday, March 5 for a status hearing. Stewart will next be in court on April 6.