Kim Pishdadi

My story is his story—Joshua Bryant Peele’s story.

On March 27, 2021, I received the most devastating phone call from what was supposed to be a friend of my son’s. She informed me that Josh had overdosed and was on his way to the hospital. I want to say it was such a beautiful day; I was out running errands and just having some me time. That phone call left me paralyzed, not knowing what to do or who to call.

As I rushed to the hospital, I was on the phone with my daughter, who is a nurse. She had so many questions, so there was constant back and forth between the friend and my daughter as I drove. And then, there it was—a voice on the phone I did not know, saying they were with the police department and asking if I could come to the hotel where my son had been. They had some questions for me. I asked if my son was dead—many times—but the officer never answered me.

When I arrived, I was met by several police officers. One of them asked if I was Joshua’s mother. He then told me he hated to inform me, but my son was deceased. At that moment, my world changed forever.

I have fought for almost four years to get justice for my son. I have the seller’s name. I have proof that the seller reached out to my son, asking if he was good. I have all the screenshots of their conversations. I even have the Cash App transaction. But because they did not find any drugs in my son’s room, they claim they can’t charge him. They say they can’t charge him because they never saw him at the motel. And why is that? Because they didn’t request the camera footage until nine days after my son passed away.

It took them six months to finally interview the friend—and that was only after I pushed and raised so much hell. They only called and spoke with the seller once and asked what the money was for. His response? “I’m not sure; I’ll have to check.” That was the last time they ever spoke to him.

And who are they? They are the Archdale Police Department, who clearly did not conduct a proper investigation into my son’s death. Then, there’s a District Attorney, now a judge in Guilford County, who admitted there was probable cause to charge him—but never did. And then there’s the seller, [redacted] from [redacted], legal name [redacted].

I will try my hardest to finally find peace, knowing that our court system is broken and that they will never do anything about the death of my son. But for the month of March, I will post something every day. And on his angelversary, I will post the screenshots and reveal who did this to my son.

That will be my JUSTICE AND PEACE.