Family of beloved Greensboro restaurant owner still searching for answers in cold case
Nov 01, 2024
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — It’s almost been four years since Mark Freedman, the owner and chef of Marks Restaurant, was shot and killed in Greensboro.
It’s been four years, and leads have been sparse. The Mark Angel Foundation is hoping to keep his legacy alive.
It’s an organization created by Mark’s loved ones to give back and donate money to Crime Stoppers to make sure no cases go cold.
The foundation and his family hope they don’t have to go another year without answers about what happened on Nov. 3, 2020.
They want closure. They say Greensboro police have taken every lead seriously, but it’s going to take more to close this case.
“We’re never going to give up," said Doug Frain, one of Mark’s friends.
The loved ones of Mark refuse to accept that no one knows what happened to the business owner on Nov. 3, 2020. Some will remember that day as Election Day 2020.
Although Greensboro police have never publicly released a motive, they do not believe it was politically motivated. What they do know is Mark closed his restaurant around 10 p.m. That’s when he’s believed to have walked to his car where he was shot and killed. Police believe the suspect then ran off.
It wasn’t until hours later that Mark's long-term girlfriend found his body in the parking lot.
“She was frantic trying to find him because he should’ve been home by that time, and I can’t imagine the horror of what she experienced,” Frain said.
Frain recounts hearing the horrific news.
“I don’t know how to articulate it. It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a very empty scary feeling, and then you start saying, ‘Why?’ This was a nice area of Greensboro ... It’s senseless,” Frain said.
Mark’s sister Robin says the wounds are still fresh all these years later.
“This is an incredible milestone, and we don’t know who killed my brother. It’s heartbreaking. It’s less raw, but it’s heartbreaking because no one has been held accountable, and there’s no closure,” Robin said.
Police have not released a possible motive, but the Freedman family believes it was random.They say if he thought he was in trouble, they would’ve known.
“He was just a regular guy. He had a passion for cooking and serving people. He was nice. He was difficult as many chefs are, but he always wanted to do the right thing by his customers and by the community,” Robin said.
“There’s no rhyme or reason for this. It makes no logical sense to us why this happened when it happened. The randomness of it is just unbelievable. We thought for sure this was going to be solved within days,” Frain said.
As four years approach since the murder took place, Mark’s loved ones hold out hope that someone knows who is responsible and will come forward.
There is A $50,000 reward for the person who closes this case. Call Crime Stoppers to make an anonymous tip.