Case Profiles #34
Curtis Ashford Jr.
On July 27th, 2022, police responded to a report of shots fired at a Dorchester, Massachusetts playground on Ellington Street. At the scene, they found 15-year-old Curtis Ashford Jr. suffering from a gunshot wound, which he later died as a result of. Less than three months later, 25-year-old Dominik Gavin and 19-year-old Zontre Mack were arrested for Curtis’s murder thanks to witness statements and surveillance footage.
Zaniya Wright
Zaniya, nicknamed Niya, loved fashion, doing nail art and running track for her school’s team. On June 17th, 2021, 13-year-old Zaniya was reported missing by her mom at 8:30pm when she never came home. The next day at 8:30am, police were called to the South Adams Apartments building on Olcott Street in Manchester, Connecticut. The call was in regards to a body being found in the basement of the building that was later identified as Zaniya. Her death was determined to have been a homicide with her cause of death being compression of the neck. After a massive investigation, police arrested a 14-year-old male in relation to the murder. Unfortunately due to recent changes to Connecticut’s legislation, the male cannot be charged as an adult. The perpetrator remains at the Hartford juvenile detention facility awaiting sentencing.
Image sources:
gunmemorial.org - “Curtis Ashford Jr, age 15”
legacy.com - “Zaniya Ann Wright”