Key events from when Michael Jordan’s father went missing shortly after midnight July 23, 1993, and when his body was identified Aug. 13.
June 20,1993
Bulls win their third consecutive NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns in six games. Jordan is named Finals MVP for the third time.
July 22
James Jordan attends the funeral of a former co-worker in Wilmington, N.C.
July 23
Shortly after midnight, Jordan leaves a friend’s home in Wilmington and heads home toward Charlotte on U.S. Highway 74.
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95
N.C.
Charlotte
Fayetteville
Lumberton
McColl
74
401
Wilmington
20
S.C.
50 miles
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Charlotte
N.C.
Fayetteville
Lumberton
McColl
74
401
Wilmington
20
S.C.
50 miles
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Charlotte
Fayetteville
N.C.
Lumberton
McColl
74
401
95
Wilmington
20
S.C.
25 miles
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Fayetteville
N.C.
McColl
Lumberton
401
74
95
Wilmington
20
S.C.
25 miles
July 23
Shortly before 2 a.m., Jordan pulls off U.S. Highway 74 about 800 yards west of I-95 in Robeson County.
July 23
Jordan is shot once in the chest. Teenage friends Daniel Green and Larry Demery later dump Jordan’s body into a creek about 30 miles away near McColl, S.C.
July 23
7:05 a.m.: A two-minute phone call is made to a sex line from James Jordan’s car phone.
July 23
10:36 a.m.: Jordan’s phone is used to call Hubert Larry Deese, the biological son of the Robeson County sheriff.
July 23
10:47 a.m.: Jordan’s phone is used to call Green’s half brother. A series of calls to relatives and friends of Green and Demery over the next several days implicate the teens in connection with Jordan’s murder.
July 26
Green and Demery dump Jordan’s car in a wooded area near Fayetteville, N.C.; car is stripped.
July 30
Green records a rap video in which he wears Jordan’s NBA championship watch and a 1986 NBA All-Star ring.
July 31
James Jordan’s 57th birthday.
Aug. 3
James Jordan’s body is found in a creek near McColl, S.C., but is listed as a John Doe.
Aug. 5
Police are notified about a stripped Lexus in Fayetteville.
Aug. 7
Jordan’s body is cremated by a South Carolina coroner as a John Doe.
Aug. 12
Jordan’s family files a missing persons report.
Aug. 13
Jordan’s body is identified through dental records.
Aug. 15
Demery and Green are arrested and charged, thanks in large part to the phone calls they made. Demery gives a statement accusing Green of pulling the trigger.
Aug. 16
Police search Green’s Lumberton home and find a .38-caliber gun and a rap video in which Green is wearing an NBA ring.
Oct. 6
Jordan announces retirement from basketball.
Feb. 7, 1994
Michael Jordan works out for the White Sox, beginning a surprise pursuit of a professional baseball career.
Feb. 28
Deese arrested on drug trafficking charges.
Sept. 3
Jordan completes his lone minor league baseball season, playing 127 games with the Double-A Birmingham Barons.
Jan. 23, 1995
Deese convicted, serves more than four years.
March 18, 1995
Michael Jordan sends his now legendary two-word fax — “I’m back” — announcing his return to the Bulls.
April 27
Demery pleads guilty to murder, agrees to testify against Green at trial in move to avoid death penalty.
Jan. 3, 1996
Green’s trial begins in Lumberton, N.C.
Feb. 29
Green is convicted of first-degree murder and is sentenced to life in prison two weeks later.
May 20
Demery is also sentenced to life in prison after testifying against Green.
Sources: Court documents, baiduhai archives and reporting
Created by the baiduhai Dataviz team on Twitter @ChiTribGraphics
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