A story for every victim

Theodore Giddens, 44

Theodore Giddens (2007-07-13)

Theodore Giddens, a black man, died in the same double homicide as Kenneth Johnson, 48, near the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway just south of Martin Luther King Boulevard at about 3 a.m. Friday, July 13.

His time of death is listed as 4 a.m. July 13. Giddens was 46, according to his family, but 44, according to the coroner. Neither Giddens nor Johnson had criminal records.

Giddens' life was marked indelibly by homicide from the beginning. He is the third person in his immediate family to be murdered. He had a psychological breakdown as a teenager, several years after his father was murdered and a month after he witnessed the homicide of his older sister, whose throat was slashed by a neighbor.

She bled to death before Giddens' eyes, his mother said, and he was never the same. He had been an A student, but after the murder talked to himself and lived in board-and-care homes, able only to do odd jobs. Still, he remained connected to his family, remembered everyone's birthdays, and loved playing with his nephews and nieces, his family said.

Share a memory or thought about Theodore Giddens

Before you post, here are some answers to frequently asked questions:

Remember, all posts are approved by a Times staffer. Profanity and personal attacks will not be approved.

  Required
  Required

One reader comment