Case Profiles #65
Elizabeth Matos and William Vega
In 1997, Jose Salcedo and Sonia Lugo moved their family from their native Yauco, Puerto Rico, to Worcester, Massachusetts to seek more opportunities and get their family a fresh start. Among their family was Sonia’s daughter Elizabeth Matos. In 2000, William Vega Sr. had brought his son, William Jr., to Worcester from New York City to get his son away from the “fast lane life.” On March 15th, 2001, the bodies of 16-year-old Elizabeth Matos and 19-year-old William Vega Jr. were found in front of an abandoned auto body shop at 126 Dewey Street in Worcester. They had both been fatally shot. The neighborhood was where Elizabeth lived and William worked. Elizabeth Matos was an eighth-grade student at Sullivan Middle School and lived in an apartment at 431 Park Ave., while William Vega worked at a Honey Farms store at the corner of Park Avenue and Charlotte Street. He was also a father to a young child. Elizabeth and William were both good friends as William was friends with Elizabeth’s older brother, and the two were seen together at 11:00 p.m. after William got out of work. Police were called at around 11:45 p.m. to report gunshots being fired in the area, and a passerby ran several blocks to alert Sergeant Ronald F. Lapointe, who was working an off-duty assignment at a nearby club. He was the first to arrive on scene and found William lying partially on top of Elizabeth as if to shield her. She had been shot twice, once in the head. William had been shot three times and died from a gunshot wound in his back. Both teenagers were good, hardworking kids and police immediately ruled out any involvement with drugs or drug dealing as a motive for the shooting. Police do feel the murders were targeted. Anyone with any information on the murders of Elizabeth Matos and William Vega is asked to please call the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at 508-799-8651. You can also send an anonymous text to 274637 (TIPWPD) or an anonymous web-based message at worcesterma.gov/police.
Jawara Stennett
39-year-old Jawara Stennett was a devoted son, brother, and father of six children, ranging in age from 1 to 20. He was said to be a very talented man who loved to write and sing. He was known to be very creative and very kind, making anyone smile with just a few words. On August 2nd, 2020, Jawara, his father, Junior, and his two younger brothers were returning to their homes in New York after spending the day before celebrating Junior’s 60th birthday. The family was driving south on I-95, when just after 10:00 p.m., their car was riddled with bullets. Emergency services were on the scene quickly, however after performing life saving measures, Jawara died from a gunshot wound to the torso. All other passengers were miraculously unharmed. The family reported seeing a white SUV, possibly a Jeep Grand Cherokee with tinted windows, at the time of the shooting. Police are interested in finding the driver of this car, as they believe they are a witness and has critical information in regards to Jawara’s murder. Unfortunately, to this day, the senseless murder of the father-of-six remains unsolved. Anyone with information that can help investigators in identifying the suspect is asked to please contact Troop G-Bridgeport at 203-696-2500.
Image sources:
theworcesterguardian.org - “Double fatal shooting in Worcester, 2001, had ‘no eyewitnesses’”
wfsb.com - “$50,000 reward offered in West Haven highway ramp homicide case”