Atlanta man found dead in yard of vacant home, leaves behind three small children

ATLANTA - A young father of three is found murdered outside a vacant home in southwest Atlanta.

Now, his family is speaking out and asking for your help to find his killer 

Based on his injuries, Regina Maffett believes her son was defending himself during an attempted robbery as he walked home from a nearby convenience store. 

She said he was almost home when someone made that fateful decision, forcing three children to grow up without a father.

"He wasn't in no trouble. He wasn't a trouble person. No trouble at all," Regina described. 

Atlanta police found 25-year-old Stephen Maffett dead in the front yard of a vacant home along Peeples Street near White Oak Avenue early Monday morning.

This is in the Oakland City neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.

"What the detective told me was that they had my son on camera at the Texaco and, I guess, he was he walking from the store and he had defense wounds on him like maybe somebody was trying to rob him cause he had defensive wounds on his hands," Regina explained. 

Maffett said her only child now leaves behind three young children of his own.

Loved ones said he was a doting father preparing for the Christmas holiday.

"What he told me the last time that I talked to him was that he was just working so he could get his kids...Like 'mom, I’m just working hard so i can get my kids their Christmas," she said.

But this holiday season and every day moving forward will no longer be the same for this close-knit family.

"He's just like the life of the family. I'm just really like tore up inside...trying to hold it together for my grandkids," Regina explained.

Several investigators canvassed and gathered information on the scene Monday.

But Maffettt told us she's still waiting for justice.

"Just come forward and say something if you seen something because if it was your child, I'd do the same for you," she explained. 

There is a $2,000 reward in Maffett's case. 

Right now, the family is raising money to help cover his funeral expenses. 

If you know anything about his death, or any unsolved homicides here in the city, call Atlanta Police immediately.

WATCH: FOX 5 NEWS LIVE COVERAGE

_____

GET BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS FROM FOX 5

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 5 ATLANTA APP FOR BREAKING NEWS AND WEATHER ALERTS