PHOENIX - As life hangs in the balance, Joseph McNally fights for it.
In the early morning hours of July 30, 2021, a 911 caller reached out to dispatch with a desperate plea: "Somebody is shot dead and about to die ma’am."
During his last moments, complete strangers stayed by his side. It was just after 3:30 a.m. when Joseph’s killer vanished into the darkness of the Phoenix streets.
"Cars are coming down the street. The police ain’t got here yet and this dude’s shot," a witness told dispatch. "Please hurry because there’s quite a bit of traffic and another car just almost ran him over."
Joseph McNally
The backstory:
Joseph Anthony McNally was born July 12, 1993. From day one, he had an unbreakable bond with his mother, Julie Ferer.
"It was him and I against the whole world," Julie said. "And back then, our family didn't necessarily, my family didn't necessarily believe that I was going to amount to anything. My whole focus was my son and working and working as hard as I can to make something of myself, for myself and for my son."
Julie Ferer
McNally was 28 years old when he was killed in the area of 28th Drive between Peoria Avenue and Cactus Road. His family was nearly 400 miles away on vacation in Huntington Beach, California, at the time.
"Part of me knew, they say that when you carry a child, you still always have parts of them in you or with you. And it was almost like a sixth sense that I knew something had happened," Julie recalled.
Witnesses told 911 they saw a man hanging from a vehicle as it flew by.
"We was coming out of my apartment and we seen a guy hanging from a car, and the car, we heard two shots and seen the guy hanging from the car and the car going by, flying by," the witness said. "We don’t know who the f-ck it was. A semi almost hit this dude, he fell off the car and a semi almost hit him. Like he’s really f-cked up in the middle of the f-cking road. The semi should have called you."
What Police Are Saying:
Phoenix Police Det. Mark Nunley, a cold case detective speaking publicly about the case for the first time, said McNally had approached the vehicle to speak with an occupant.
"Joseph had approached this vehicle and was speaking with one of the occupants. So, he was right next to the vehicle. He may have likely, we believe, that he was at some point touching or holding onto the vehicle and that at some time one of occupants inside that vehicle shot him," Nunley said.
Phoenix Police Det. Mark Nunley
Julie said the occupants took her son’s phone before dragging him at speeds of 60 to 70 mph. "They shot him in the arm. He still was holding on, then they shot him in the head, and then he flew into oncoming traffic," she said.
McNally died at the hospital after being removed from life support.
"I just remember, like, when we took him off of life support. And just like I put my head down on his chest, and I'm just listening to his heartbeat. And I'm thinking, like holding him, you know, like this is still my baby. I'm holding him and he's in my arms dying. The last time I was holding him in the hospital was when he was born," Julie said.
Mother searches for justice after son was shot and killed in North Phoenix
Joseph McNally was killed in North Phoenix during the early morning hours of July 30, 2021. Months later, his mother is still trying to learn what led to her firstborn being killed.
‘He was not in a good place’
"There's a lot of homeless activity in that area. It appears that Joseph was down on his luck. He was not in a good place. And sometimes people that are in a bad place are the most vulnerable. And he appeared to be in that situation where some of the people that he was spending time with were involved in some other criminal activity," Det. Nunley said.
Joseph did want to get treatment for substance abuse issues, and his mother planned to help.
"He's like, 'I can't keep doing this, mom.' He's like 'I need help when you get home. Can you get me help?' And I didn't get the chance to get him help and that's the first time he's ever asked me. I didn't get it. If I would have been here, I could have helped him, and it never would have happened," Julie said.
‘Pray about it'
Police are looking for a dark blue or black compact SUV, model year 2000 to 2010. While the case has grown cold, Nunley is looking for new clues.
"As I reviewed this case, I did identify a few items that I believe might be good candidates for additional or more advance testing," he said.
Dark blue or black compact SUV, model year 2000 to 2010 - the possible suspect car.
Now, Julie and Joseph’s father, Doug Ferer, return to the area each year on the anniversary of their son's murder to pass out 28 red bags to those in need.
"At this point, this is all we can do. Try to give somebody a little bit of hope, we give them a bag of what we have, we give them cold waters, we talk to some people, pray about it and that’s all we can do," Ferer said.
Doug Ferer (right)
What you can do:
Anyone with information should contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS. There is a $2,000 reward in this case.
Spanish speakers can call Testigo Silencioso at 480-TESTIGO. Si tiene alguna información sobre este caso, llame a la línea de Testigo Silencioso (480-TESTIGO, 480-837-8446).
You can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
If you'd like to read more about the two other cases in Season 2 of Aftermath, click here.
Map of the area where the incident happened