MINNEAPOLIS — It is a murder case that seemingly slipped under the radar in Minneapolis this spring.
Dave Veljkovich — a local standup comic and rapper — was shot in his northeast Minneapolis home in May.
Friends and family of the 32-year-old, known on the stage as Dave Velk, stayed very quiet initially because they thought an arrest was imminent.
But that never happened, and now they're speaking up in hopes for justice.
Dave was more than just a friend and roommate to Neil McArthur.
"It was the motivation I needed, I never had to get my own music off the ground or understand that I could do music. Because before I met Dave, I wasn't really finishing music," Neil said, explaining how Dave helped him reach his potential. "I wouldn't be close to where I'm at without Dave."
After meeting during the pandemic, Dave and Neil started making music together while living in a house on Quincy Street in Northeast Minneapolis.
They added members to their band — called Looseleaf — and were starting to get more and more live gigs in the Twin Cities with Dave's unique hip hop vocals and inspirational drive at the center.
"It was very motivating and he transferred that to all the people that were in our circle," Neil said.
But the dream came to a tragic end on the morning of May 2, when Neil returned to the home on Quincy Street after spending the night with his girlfriend.
"I walked in and the first thing I noticed as I walked in is there was a lot of s*** knocked over in the living room. And through that, I see all the way down to my studio and I see Dave is lying on the ground motionless," Neil said.
The medical examiner ruled Dave died from a single gunshot to his torso. Neil says it also looked like he was hit over the head with a laptop and it was clear a burglary had happened.
"My room, as I walked through to the studio, I looked in and it looked like someone went through my room looking like they knew where I put stuff," Neil said. "Like they knew where to look. It was very obvious they were looking at specific drawers. Stuff was torn apart. It looked like there was a big fight."
Besides expensive music equipment that was stolen, Neil says he had a lot of marijuana in the house and it's possible the burglars were looking for that and ran into Dave.
"I thought it was a robbery gone wrong instantly," Neil said.
But Neil says the first thing he showed police was a cryptic text message sent to his girlfriend the day before the murder from her ex-husband who has a history of domestic abuse convictions and disapproved of her relationship with Neil.
The text message said, referring to Neil, "He won't be there for much longer... I know his work schedule, where he live what he drive... My friends aren't no one to play with. I don't even need to be there."
"Stuff like that. Really eerie threats," the girlfriend said, showing KARE 11 news a number of threatening posts from the man.
Neil and his girlfriend gave those text messages and other evidence to police. But no one has been arrested or charged in Dave's murder.
"We know the evidence we've brought forward, so it sounds like a freaking movie that nothing's happened," Neil said.
With the man they believe is involved still free, Neil and his girlfriend said they both fear for their safety.
"I'm just sorry. It shouldn't have happened to him like that. It shouldn't have happened at all. That's what hurts the most. There's no reason for this to have happened," Neil said.
KARE 11 News is not identifying the girlfriend or her ex-husband because he has not been charged in this case.
Minneapolis police said the case is active and aren't able to say why an arrest hasn't happened yet.
Neil and his girlfriend say the ex-husband's alibi was that he checked into drug treatment the day before the murder.
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