A Bridgeport family whose loved one was found dead eight years ago this week is asking for the public's help Friday in solving his murder.

Police say 20-year-old Tremaine Newton was found shot to death in his car in a commuter lot in West Haven, where the vehicle was left pushed into a ditch in June 2009.

The family says they suspect he was the victim of a random armed robbery, during which he was shot one time in the back of the head.

"He was taken from us, that can never be replaced by anything," says Mindy Richardson, Tremaine's stepmother.

State police teamed up with police from Bridgeport and West Haven in investigating the killing, but the case has grown cold.

The family says anyone can contribute to their efforts to buy a headstone and to set up a reward fund.