The heartbroken father of Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee analyst murdered near his Washington, DC, apartment on July 10, says he has been left with a hole in his life forever and begged for those with information on the killer to come forward to the police.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online, Joel Rich said: 'We want to get this solved, that's the number one thing.

'We can't bring Seth back but we can try to make the city safer and take away the person who wanted to go after someone just for a cellphone.

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Joel Rich, the father of Seth Rich, has released more details surrounding the mysterious death of his son

Seth Rich, 27, was gunned down in Washington, DC, last month. A Wikileaks reward generated speculation that Rich was responsible for the leak of DNC emails - speculation that has been vehemently denied by family and friends

Joel Rich said that his son, pictured in a family portrait, 'touched so many people and was making a difference'

Cops said Rich, pictured as a child, may have been the victim of an attempted robbery, but his family insist the killers didn't take anything from him

'We don't know if there's one person or two people - all we know is that there was a scuffle. Seth's watchband was torn, so somebody had tried to grab that.

He added: 'We need more help - somebody was bruised, somebody's clothes are torn. Think about who that person is.'

Joel, 68, also revealed to Daily Mail Online that four days before his death, Seth learned he had been chosen to work on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign – a career triumph for a young man who spent his life dedicated to politics.

He said: 'He'd worked on senate and house campaigns but he'd always wanted to work on a presidential campaign.

Seth was moving to Brooklyn to work in Hilary's campaign

'He had just found out they wanted him and he was probably going to be moving up to Brooklyn through the election. He was really excited about that.'

Days later, on July 10, the 27-year-old was fatally shot in the back at 4:19am, a block from his home in the quiet Bloomingdale neighborhood of DC.

Authorities have offered a $25,000 reward for information to help solve the crime.

Last week, Wikileaks offered a separate $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the murder, generating speculation that Rich was responsible for the leak of DNC emails. Seth's friends say that couldn't be further from the truth.

Joel Rich also shared the difficult information he had received of his son's injuries and details which could help solve the crime.

Rich, pictured as a child, was shot in the back just after 4am in a northern neighborhood of Washington, DC, on July 10

Rich, pictured with his parents and older brother, was killed two days after he appealed on Facebook to end gun violence

He said: 'He was in a scuffle, is what they can tell from bruises he had. He was shot in the back, I don't know if it was high back or low back. I didn't ask.

'Bullets in bodies don't match well, they bounce around and tear up things you need. They recovered one bullet fragment from his body and one from the scene.

'It was revolver, there were no shell casings, and it wasn't a fancy weapon.

'Police are telling us is that it's the scientific evidence that will help them solve it. Either DNA or from Seth's clothes.

'I know they have looked at surveillance but there not a lot of cameras in that area. They are talking to people, if there are any other arrests, they are trying to see if there's any link.'

DO YOU KNOW WHO KILLED SETH RICH? Anyone with information about the murder is urged to call detectives at 202-727-9099 or text anonymous information to the department's tip line at 50411. Advertisement

The corner on which Rich was shot has had a number of attacks recently and police are looking into whether the murder and recent crime spree are linked.

Seth had everything going for him, not only his career but his personal life as well.

It was through work that Seth had met his girlfriend, Kelsey Mulka. They worked at the same polling company together in DC several years ago.

Joel Rich said that the family had loved getting to know her.

He said: 'She grew up in Michigan then moved to DC, she and Seth started dating when he was working at a polling company.

'She had come to Nebraska when Seth went to a college fraternity brother's wedding last summer. Then we had a chance to meet her again at Aaron's wedding last October. We spent more time with her there.

Seth, pictured at a young age, had friends from across the country head to Nebraska for his funeral

Joel Rich said that on the night Seth Rich (pictured as a child) was killed, police were on motorcycles and responded quickly to the scene

'They seemed to fit very well together. She was very quiet and Seth was a talker.

'To see them together, they each had a sparkle in their eye. It could have gone some place, maybe developed into a marriage.'

Seth Rich had been on his cellphone to Kelsey Mulka when he was attacked on July 10 on the 2100 block of Flagler Place NW, one block away from the house he shared with three roommates.

Earlier this month Joel and his wife Mary Ann, 59, attended a tribute to their son in DC, where friends packed into his favorite spot, Lou's City Bar.

Joel said: 'It wasn't a memorial, it wasn't that we're sad that Seth's gone, it was really that we're glad Seth was here.'

The father said he had learned a lot about his son from the stories shared during that emotional night.

He said: 'The bar put a plaque at the seat which he always sat. We started at 5pm and the stories didn't stop until 11pm.

'Usually it's the bartender who listens to the customer's problems. Well, Seth listened to the bartender's problems - and the other people in the bar.

'No one was a stranger around Seth and if they had a problem he was going to try to solve it.

Joel carries print-outs with him in a folder of messages he has received from many of Seth's friends.

Joel Rich said that there was a scuffle in which Seth's (pictured right as a child) watch was torn before the shooting

Rich's father said that though they can't bring back Rich, pictured in portraits as a child and teenager, they can, 'try to make the city safer and take away the person who wanted to go after someone just for a cellphone'

'One kid sent a note about when he and Seth were in high school and worked as greeters at a restaurant downtown,' Joel said.

'The guy had a crush on Miley Cyrus and then all of sudden, she shows up unannounced - and Seth is the one who seats her.

'Seth isn't shy so he asks if his friend can come over to meet her. The guy wrote to us that this is the one and only time he'd met a celebrity.'

Another story Seth's father heard came from a friend he had reunited with in college.

'We heard from a girl who went to school with Seth,' Joel said. 'She sent us a picture of Seth, around seven years old at her birthday party, where he had fallen asleep next to his food.

'They reconnected when she went to law school in DC then she moved up to Philly.

'Seth had gone to visit her and saw her diplomas lying on a counter. He asked why didn't she have them displayed, and she said she didn't think they were that important.

'As he was leaving to go back to DC, he ran back into the house, saying he forgot something.

'When she got home, her diplomas were standing up around her room because he felt that was important for her.'

Mr Rich added: 'We heard so many stories on him caring about people.

Seth, pictured speaking at his sixth-grade graduation, always wanted to get to know other people, his father said

Rich's father Joel said that 'no one was a stranger' around Rich, pictured praying as a teenager

'He wasn't the center of attention but kids would congregate around him. Making sure everyone was included was a thing that carried on throughout his whole life.'

Seth was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 3, 1989. As soon as he was talking, he wanted to get to know other people, his father said.

Joel said: 'I remember a wedding of a cousin of mine where we took Seth who was around six at the time.

'He goes around introducing himself and someone came over and said, "This kid's going to be a politician".'

At school, Seth loved speech and debate and played on the soccer team.

'Academic debates was probably when his interest in politics started,' Joel said. 'He worked for the Ben Nelson Senate campaign when he was a junior in high school and when he was at Creighton University, he was an intern at the Senator's office. Ben Nelson was a mentor to him.

'I've personally connected with the senator since Seth's passing. He lost a daughter within the last year and so it was parent-to-parent kind of talk.

'It's not something you ever expect to have to do.'

His father said that family was incredibly important to his son and dreamed of planning a huge reunion.

Seth was extremely close with his one older brother, Aaron, 34, who lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Molly. Together they're pictured above in their younger years

Four days before his death, Rich, pictured with his parents at his high school graduation, learned he had been chosen to work on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign

Authorities have offered a $25,000 reward for information which would solve the crime. Pictured above is Rich at his college graduation with his parents

'Any place we could get family together was important to Seth,' Joel said. 'He would fish with his grandfather and he looked forward to seeing his cousins.

'I've got a brother in Omaha and Mary's family is from Iowa. Seth wanted to have a family reunion, to get all the cousins and everybody together.

'But we didn't have the time to do that with him.'

Seth was extremely close with his one older brother, Aaron, 34, who lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Molly.

'Losing a brother when you're close is tough' Joel said. 'Aaron got married last October, and so he and his wife have got each other to hold on to.'

Joel also praised Aaron's friends who had driven through the night from Denver to make Seth's funeral on July 13 at Beth El Synagogue in Omaha.

The congregation was also was packed with Seth's high school and college friends some who had traveled from Minnesota, DC, Chicago and Seattle.

'He had a lot of lifelong friendships,' his father said.

Some of those started at summer camp which played a large role in his life. He attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin for much of his childhood and returned as a counselor.

'He went there for six years, as part of a series of camps that led to a trip to Israel before he was a senior in high school.

'After he graduated he was on staff for a couple of years. It had a lot of influence on him when he was growing up, helping set his values.'

The family have established a memorial fund for Seth which is linked to the camp. They hope to be able to send one child there each summer.

When news first broke about the murder, it was believed that Rich was heading to his girlfriend Kelsey Mulka's home

Last week, Wikileaks offered a separate $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the murder. Pictured above, Rich with Mulka

Seth, pictured above, hoped to make a difference in people's lives, his father said

'It made such a difference in his life, we want to help someone to go to that camp each year,' Joel said.

His father didn't recall any rebellious moments from his son, but added with a smile that his wife probably knew of some bad behavior.

'He was a pretty straightforward kid, not out all night,' Joel said. 'If he was going to be some place, at his friend's house, he would make sure to call to let us know so we wouldn't worry. We had no concerns about Seth.'

Seth studied political science and public policy at the Jesuit Creighton University where he threw himself into student politics, becoming the vice president of the student union.

Joel said: 'His interest in politics was being able to go out and talk to people and make your point.

'He wanted to make difference and he got behind campaigns where he thought they were going to make a difference for people.

He added: 'He also tied with the Jesuit values of helping others, reaching out and asking the most of yourself.'

Joel said his son had a keen sense of humor and often made himself the butt of the joke.

He said: 'Fourth of July was a time he always liked and he started outfitting himself completely in a US flag.

'If there was something significant when he was proud of America, he wore his flag outfit.

Investigators have yet to find any witnesses who were at the scene when Rich, pictured with his parents, was killed

The corner on which Rich was shot has had a number of attacks recently and police are looking into whether the murder and recent crime spree are linked

'When the Supreme Court issued their ruling on gay marriage, he went home and changed into his flag shirt.'

Seth liked to socialize – especially if it focused around the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.

'Seth loved to grill and to have people come by,' Joel said. 'We had been taking him to football games from the age of seven. Both he and his brother were definitely Husker fans.

'He was very enthusiastic, in fact so enthusiastic, one time he broke a table at a Huskers bar. He was standing on it or just getting really excited, I don't know.

'The next week he showed up, the staff said, "Why don't you just sit at the bar?"'

Seth Rich was director of voter expansion for the DNC – and often called his father to have him try out new software he was developing. He was known to keep a night-owl schedule and also for his quirky sense of humor in the office.

Joel Rich said: 'He liked pandas and his mother had sent him a little stuffed panda that got named Bamboo.

'At the DNC, they would hide the panda - it would be in someone's office, and on filing cabinet.

'When they packed up and sent us the things from his cubicle, his one boss asked that Bamboo the panda stay there.

'When they went to the Democrat convention, they took Bamboo with them, and they sent out selfies of Bamboo listening to Secretary Clinton. Bamboo will still be at the parties and things.'

Seth was a huge University of Nebraska fan, while his girlfriend attended fellow Big 10 school, Michigan State University

Joel Rich said that he and his wife had met with Hillary Clinton when she was on the campaign trail in Omaha recently but declined to comment further.

Seth Rich had been on his cellphone to his girlfriend when he was attacked.

His father said: 'Someone has come forward to say that he was with some friends at a bar, I don't know if it was Lou's.

'It was not uncommon for Seth when he was going home to talk on the phone. He'd call us a lot of times and this time he was talking to Kelsey.

She had gone out of town to visit her parents for Fourth of July weekend.

Rich said: 'The cellphone service in his apartment is horrible, so it would not be unlikely for him to be walking around the neighborhood if they were talking.

'He was probably at the bar until it closed and then was walking home. It wasn't out of pattern for his friends to do the same kind of thing.'

It is unclear when Seth Rich was first approached but nearby cops heard the shot ring out and responded in minutes.

'He was shot at 4:19am, made it to hospital and was dead at 5:57am,' Joel Rich said.

'The responding officers were on motorcycles so they were there probably within minute after they realized there had been a shot.

'There wasn't any time for someone to stay around and try to go through his pockets.

Joel said his son had a keen sense of humor and that he wore full American flag-themed gear on Fourth of July

'I talked to detective yesterday and there had been some calls, but it's tough when you don't have eyewitnesses.'

According to the DC Metropolitan Police Department, there were two robberies in the area in the hour prior to Rich's shooting.

Over four days in June, a woman was carjacked and three people were robbed at gunpoint on Flagler Place, close to where Rich was shot.

Joel said that he had full faith DC police and Chief Cathy Lanier.

He said: 'There's been such sincerity from the police, the chief and the city of Washington.

'Chief Lanier said, "Don't worry, we're not going to let them get away with this". That really meant something.'

As the family wait for news on the investigation, Joel said they are being shored up by the memories which have flooded in from friends.

'The hole is going to be there forever but the fact that Seth touched so many people and was making a difference is what is helping us get through this.

'People realize that he was special.'

Following his death, the Rich family found a draft of an email Seth had written but it was unclear who the recipient was.

Omaha.com reported that it read: 'All my life, I've only wanted to make a difference so that I might be able to one day tell people that I mattered.'