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Atlanta mother shares shocking words for son's killer: 'I forgive you'

By , and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  February 20, 2023 10:44pm EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta mother forgives son's killer amid investigation

Tiffany Marsh said her son was shot and killed outside his car while his 10-month-old daughter was in the back seat. She pulled together strength in an interview with FOX 5 to forgive the shooter while the investigation remains ongoing.

ATLANTA - Tiffany Marsh shared a disturbing call from Atlanta Police Friday evening summoning her to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding to get her 10-month-old granddaughter.

"Where is my son?" Marsh said she asked repeatedly. "I'm asking them ‘Where is my son?’ Because my son had her."

That is when a detective had to deliver the heartbreaking news that her son, 20-year-old Julian Kolb, was dead. Officers had found her granddaughter still sitting in the backseat of her son's car on Allegheny Street in southwest Atlanta.

Bernice Street and Allegheny Street SW (FOX 5 Atlanta)

"I screamed. I yelled. I cried," she told FOX 5. "I couldn't get to Hugh Spalding quick enough."

To this day, Marsh said she still does not know what happened to her son who was a student at Georgia State. Officials are still investigating the case.

Atlanta police told FOX 5 that Kolb was shot outside his car around 5:30 p.m. in a normally quiet neighborhood. His daughter was in the backseat.

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Julian Kolb (Family submitted photo)

Now Marsh said she has questions for the person who pulled the trigger.

"The first thing I would say is ‘Why? Why did you take my baby? What did he do that was so bad that you had to take his life?’ And I will also add: ‘Please turn yourself in’," the woman pleaded.

"This was a son. He was a father. He was a student. He was loved. He had a job," she continued.

(FOX 5 Atlanta)

Kolb's mother became especially emotional at a point in the interview.

"In order for me to be forgiven," she said, "I have to forgive others. So I forgive you."

So far, police have not made any arrests.

Family and friends held a vigil Kolb's honor Monday night

Vigil held for Atlanta father shot while baby daughter was in the backseat

A Georgia family and close friends are devastated after someone shot and killed a 20-year-old student and father outside his car, just feet away from his 10-month-old daughter in the backseat. People close to Julian Kolb gathered Monday night for a vigil and balloon release in his honor.

They gathered in Atlanta's Central Park to release white balloons. Loved ones held back tears as they remembered the life of 20-year-old Julian Kolb.

"An awesome son, a good father, a good student. Just an awesome person that did not deserve to die," a family friend told FOX 5. "He was taken from his family. He was taken from his friends."

One by one, friends and classmates who attended a vigil in his memory spoke to who he was.

Friends and family of Julian Kolb gathered for a balloon release and vigil Monday night.

 "What I loved the most about him was his smile. He loved to giggle and smile," another friend said.

While they wait for answers in the case, loved ones are remembering Kolb's desire to be a physical therapist, his passion for music and the undeniable love he had for his daughter.

Funeral arrangements for Julian have been set. His mother said she wanted to keep those plans private.

She is pleading for anyone with information to contact Atlanta Police Detectives as soon as possible.