The family of a man who was gunned down in front of his Trenton, N.S. home two years ago is pleading for someone to come forward with answers. Police and Edward Phalen’s family still don’t know why the 44-year-old father of four was murdered the night of Oct. 25, 2011. “It’s so frustrating and to have no closure, oh, it’s just heartbreaking,” says the victim’s mother, Carol Phalen. Police say Eddie Phalen left his home on Mechanic Street and drove to a nearby convenience store around 7:45 p.m. that night. He was shot minutes later outside his home and police believe the suspect, or suspects, were waiting for him to return home. Phalen’s wife Veronica and four children were inside the home when he was killed. “We heard the first shot and my little one in here screamed ‘Mommy! Fireworks!’ but I knew it was just too loud and I said to her ‘Honey, that’s not fireworks,’” says Veronica Phalen. She says she opened the door and found her husband lying dead on the street, several metres away from their home. “I know Ed. If he thought there was any threat whatsoever towards myself or the kids he would have run away from the house,” she says. “So I believe with all my heart that’s why I found him in front of the next house down.” Witnesses told police they heard the gunshots and spotted a suspect fleeing the scene on foot, but two years later, no one has been charged and no arrests have been made. Veronica Phalen says her husband’s death has devastated his family, especially her children. But she says they have also been her saving grace. “They’re the reason I wake up and breathe everyday because to be with them, to make sure I do my best to keep them safe,” she says. “Someone knows and, I mean, four babies have to live without their father for the rest of their life.” The government is offering $150,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case, under the Nova Scotia Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program. Like Phalen’s family, police believe there are people in the community with information in the case, and they are asking those people to come forward. With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
