It’s been one year since a UAB researcher was killed just after he finished walking his dog at a Birmingham soccer field, and his killer still remains free.

A Crime Stoppers Reward of up to up to $20,000 remains in place.

Police from the city’s East Precinct were dispatched just before 11 p.m. that Monday, May 23, 2022, to 135 54th Street North after Shot Spotter alerted them to gunfire in the area.

Once on the scene, they found an vehicle had crashed into a utility pole. They quickly determined the driver had been shot.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced Westbrook dead on the scene at 11:16 p.m.

The investigation showed that Westbrook had just finished walking his dog at a nearby soccer field when he was approached by a male wearing dark track pants with a white stripe down the leg and a gray hooded sweatshirt with a light-colored design on the chest.

Nearby surveillance video captured video of the suspect.

The unknown suspect shot Westbrook as he tried to back out of his parking space.

Authorities said they have found no motive for the deadly shooting.

Westbrook, an Arkansas native, was the manager of the Christian Faul Lab at UAB’s Heersink School of Medicine and had worked at UAB and in academic research for more than 25 years.

He had a degree in microbiology from the University of Arkansas and studied infectious diseases and food safety at Alabama A&M University.

Though not originally from Alabama, Westbrook quickly immersed himself in the Birmingham community.

He was a familiar face at the Sidewalk Film Festival, and supported art in all its forms.

He frequented Back Forty Beer Company, The Nick, Bottletree Café and Saturn, just to name a few of his favorite haunts. He was a big fan of Star Wars, Marvel films, and Taylor Swift.

Westbrook loved getting ice cream, and cat sitting for his friends when they went out of town.

Police said there have been few leads in the cases. Any bit of information could help, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Anyone with information in Westbrook’s slaying is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.