Case Profiles #58
Rodney Baldwin
On September 3rd, 2009, 25-year-old Rodney Trent Baldwin left his Derby, Connecticut residence to go to a nearby convenience store to grab some cigarettes. He had just bought them and was leaving the store at roughly 9:30am. He began to cross Seventh Avenue when suddenly a dark-colored car drove by and several gunshots rang out. Suddenly, Rodney fell to the ground in the middle of the street. His best friend, Gerald Scott, heard the commotion, saw Rodney lying in the road, and ran to his side before watching him die of his wounds. Rodney’s friends and family were immediately suspicious of a man named Keyshon, who Rodney had on-going “beef” with for the past six months. Additionally, a dark-colored car was seen driving past Rodney’s home several times the night before his murder, matching the description of the one leaving the scene of his murder. Rodney’s murder came nine days after the shooting of another local man, Kierron Stanley, who survived his injuries, and loved ones believe the two incidents are related. Rodney had also recently been arrested on multiple drug charges which could possibly have a connection to his murder as well. At this time, no arrests have been made in Rodney’s death. Anyone with information is asked to please contact Derby police at 203-735-7811 and ask for the detective division.
Tanairy Velazquez Estrada
On October 25th, 2023, a group of hunters in the woods along Poor Farm Road in Washington, Vermont called police at about 2:00pm to alert them to the discovery of a body. Police arrived on scene to find the body of a young woman, which was a startling discovery especially in the small town of Washington, Vermont with a population of a little over 1,000 people. The woman was identified as 23-year-old Tanairy “Tanya” Velasquez Estrada. Based on the scene and manner in which her body was found, police immediately ruled her death as suspicious. She had multiple, significant and extensive injuries. Bob Sherman, a 40-year resident of Washington, said that Tanya’s body was found about 20 feet from the gate to his property near an old cellar hole. That particular area was described as being particularly rugged on an already rural road. He stated “People come up here to dump tires and trash, not bodies. Clearly, the person who dumped the body didn’t have four-wheel-drive. I believe they knew exactly where they were going when they left that body there.” Tanya lived in Barre, Vermont and was reported missing on October 25th, 2023, the same day her body was found, by her mom who lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Her mom hadn’t heard from her in about a week. At the same time police were discovering her body, Fitchburg police were contacting police in Vermont about the missing persons report. On February 21st, 2024, State police said in a press release that Vermont’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office had ruled Tanya’s death a homicide. Her cause of death was asphyxia due to strangling. Principle Alexis Curry of the Goodrich Academy in Fitchburg said that Tanya had graduated from the alternative high school in 2020. She stated “She was a very kind young lady. Staff were very fond of her. She had overcome a lot of challenges in her life. She just wanted to graduate and do bigger things.” This is an ongoing and active investigation. Anyone with any information on the murder of Tanairy Velasquez Estrada is asked to please contact police at 802-229-9191, or provide an anonymous tip online at vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
Image sources:
mortonsmortuary.com - “Rodney T. Baldwin”
vtdigger.com - “In the rural town of Washington, rumors fill the void as details prove scarce in the deaths of 2 women”