Behind every victim of homicide is a mother in mourning. More often than not, their child’s killer is never found. These mothers wait for years for any kind of answer to the questions “who” and “why.”
Through their sorrow, these mothers found a commonality to end the violence that runs through their neighborhoods, and joined Mothers for Justice and Equality. With the support from each other, they’re turning grief into action.
Photo credit: Nancy Carbonaro photography
A 22-year-old Dorchester man in late February was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the killing of Aaron Wornum in 2011, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.
Anthony Robertson, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm, the district attorney said Feb. 26 in a statement. Wornum, 25, was shot and killed June 26, 2011 in the area of Sumner and East Cottage streets in Dorchester. Read more
On a day dominated by the slow and painstakingly formal process of submitting evidence, several moments of grief erupted in Courtroom 815 and hung like a pall over the trial of Anthony Robertson.
Robertson, 22, is accused of fatally shooting 25-year-old Aaron Wornum in June of 2011 in Dorchester. On Thursday, he sat quietly next to his attorney while prosecutors spent nearly an hour entering pictures of his alleged victim’s blood-stained clothing into the court record.
Several feet away from Robertson, Wornum’s family sat bunched together on a second-row bench. When Assistant District Attorney David Fredette placed a picture of Wornum’s bruised face – taken during his autopsy – on a projector screen, one woman burst into tears and ran out of the court.
She remained outside until Dr. Henry Nields, the city’s chief medical examiner, finished detailing the various injuries on Wornum’s body.
“He was a young man,” Nields said. “He had three gunshot wounds to his body and blunt impact wounds to his head and upper extremities.”
Prosecutors have said that Wornum’s phone records show he spoke with Robertson not long before the shooting.
The two had planned to meet up on the night of June 26, 2011, according to a press release from the Suffolk County district attorney’s office. When they did, Robertson allegedly shot Wornum and stole a gold chain from him in front of several witnesses.
Nields said that a bullet appeared to have grazed the back of Wornum’s neck, indicating that the shooter fired at him from the side.
Two more bullets hit him in his right arm. One traveled through his body and damaged his spinal cord, likely paralyzing him, while the other severed the carotid artery in his neck, Nields said in his brief testimony.
Police arrested Robertson for the shooting on July 13, 2011.
Detective James Bowden, the officer who took Robertson into custody, told the jury on Thursday that the Boston Police Department’s fugitive unit found him hiding under a pile of clothes in a squalid room two stories above his mother’s apartment on Arbutus Street.
“It was probably the worst house I’ve ever been in in my entire life,” Bowden said of the apartment where he found Robertson.
“It was just trash and maggots and babies crawling in it – and feces smell,” he added, eliciting gasps and groans.
Bowden said that when he reached into a pile of clothes stashed in a closet he felt a sweaty arm, and pulled out Robertson.
Anthony Robertson, accused in a 2011 murder, came face-to-face Tuesday with the first pool of potential jurors in his trial, some of whom will soon cast a vote on his fate.
The 22-year-old Dorchester native is accused of fatally shooting 25-year-old Aaron Wornum in June of 2011, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office. He is charged with first-degree murder.
Six jurors were selected at the end of the first day.
As Judge Patrick Brady questioned potential jurors in Courtroom 817 at Suffolk Superior Court, Robertson, dressed in khaki pants and a white button-down shirt, turned to look at friends several times, signaling and even laughing with them.
Robertson and his attorney, James Greenberg, whispered to each other as they made decisions on jurors.
Several potential jurors were dismissed, including some with relatives in law enforcement, others with scheduling conflicts due to children or work, a police officer and a number of individuals who did not speak English well.
Prosecutors believe Robertson and Wornum knew each other, Conley’s office said in a statement.
In 2008, Wornum spoke of trying to break the cycle of violence. In a powerful YouTube video for Teen Empowerment, a national center aimed at combating violence in troubled neighborhoods. Wornum advised youths on choices.
“You know that if you wake up today and take another man’s life, the two most likely repercussions will be incarceration or revenge from a family member,” he said to a cheering crowd. “You know that if you were to wake up today and attend school … the two most likely repercussions are a well-paying occupation and success.”
Failure or success, Wornum said, were the results of making the right or wrong choices, especially in a troubled neighborhood like Dorchester.
“Unfortunately it took the death of some of my closest allies in order for me to come to this realization … I still care about the people I came up with, I don’t want to give up on them. But now instead of connecting with them on narcotics sales or violent retaliations, I’m trying to be a bridge to connect them to opportunities to change their directions of their life.”
Wornum died June 2011 at Boston Medical Center.
That summer night, Robertson allegedly exited his car and shot Wornum multiple times before stealing a gold chain from him, Conley’s office said.
See press release from Conley’s office below:
Two Arraigned After Indictments in June HomicidesTwo men charged in separate homicides this June remain held without bail following their indictments last week and their Superior Court arraignments today, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
ANTHONY ROBERTSON (D.O.B. 5/19/91) of Dorchester was formally charged this morning with first-degree murder for the June 26 shooting death of 25-year-old Aaron Wornum. Just a few hours later, LAQUAN MILLER (D.O.B. 5/25/94) of Roslindale was charged with the same offense for the June 5 shooting death of Wilfredo Martinez, 23, and the non-fatal shooting of a second 23-year-old man during the same incident.
Acting on requests by Assistant District Attorney Davide Fredette of Conley’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Connie Wong kept in place orders that both men be held without bail as they have been since their previous arraignments in district court.
Speaking at Robertson’s arraignment this morning, Fredette told the court that Wornum and Robertson were known to one another. Wornum had been on his cell phone with a person he was supposed to meet at about 9:00 on the evening he was killed, Fredette said, and phone records show that person to be Robertson.
At about that time, Robertson allegedly drove up to the scene, exited his car, and pulled a gun. He allegedly shot Wornum multiple times, killing him, and stole a gold chain from him.
Just before his death, Wornum is said to have pleaded for his life, saying, “Ant, it doesn’t have to be this way,” or “Ant, you don’t have to do me like this,” Fredette said.
Multiple witnesses have identified Robertson as the shooter, Fredette said.
A few hours later, Fredette recited the facts of the case against Miller, telling the court that Martinez and another man were behind a Brookway Road building shortly after 10:00 p.m. when two other individuals came out from inside that building and opened fire on them. Martinez suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died of his injuries; the second victim survived his injuries but required extensive rehabilitative therapy as a result of them.
Miller was later identified by several individuals as being one of the gunmen, Fredette said. When he spoke to police, Miller allegedly gave multiple alibis that conflicted with one another and the known facts, Fredette said.
The investigation into the identity of the second shooter remains very active even today, Fredette told the court.
Jessica Sheehan is the DA’s victim witness advocate assigned to both cases. Robertson is represented by attorney James Greenberg and will return to court on Oct. 25. Miller is represented by attorney Bruce Carroll and will return to court on Oct. 13.
On the eve of jury selection, a last-second question about the lawfulness of cell phone tracking could delay the murder trial of Anthony Robertson by months.
Robertson, 22, of Dorchester, is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Aaron Wornum in June of 2011, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.
In court on Monday, attorneys debated a series of final motions that set parameters for the trial, which is expected to begin this week. But one question about the admissibility of location data drawn from cell phone towers rose above rote procedure, and the judge’s decision will determine if prosecutors can go forward with the case or will have to ask for a stay in proceedings.
When people uses cell phones, their location is roughly recorded based on what service tower picks up their signal. Police can then use this data to show a person was near a scene when a crime occurred.
Prosecutor David Fredette said cell phone location records show Robertson was near the area when Wornum was shot on Sumner Street on June 26, 2011. He said the data does not pinpoint exactly where a person was, but it is accurate within a radius of about half a mile.
The use of cell phone location data by police has recently emerged as the subject of legal controversy. Currently, police do not need to obtain a search warrant to collect the cell phone records. They merely need to show the information pertains to an ongoing investigation, rather than having to show probable cause, a higher standard required for warrants.
Some people argue that this standard is not high enough, and failing to acquire a warrant to obtain cell phone location data is a violation of personal privacy rights. They say the records essentially allow investigators to access the same information as a GPS tracking device would.
Prosecutors sometimes use cell phone records over a period of weeks or months to build a picture of a suspect’s activities, Fredette said. In the Robertson case, he said, he used cell phone records from June 1 to July 15.
Superior court judges have been split on the issue and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts heard a case about the cell phone location data last fall. The state’s high court has yet to issue a decision on the matter, leaving Judge Patrick F. Brady on his own to determine if the records are admissible in the Robertson murder trial.
Defense Attorney James Greenberg argued that the cell phone records should be thrown out because police did not obtain a warrant before accessing them. Fredette said the Commonwealth will probably have to ask for a stay, effectively putting the trial on hold, if Brady decides the records are inadmissible. Though prosecutors said they have witnesses who place Robertson at the scene, Fredette said the cell phone data is reliable evidence and is important to the case.
Brady took the matter under advisement and is expected to make a decision Tuesday morning, when the attorneys expect to begin choosing a jury for the case. He said the question coming so soon before trial puts him in a bind.
“I’ve got a case that’s ready for trial,” he said. “Everyone’s geared up. It’s a lot of work to do.”
See press releases from the Suffolk County district attorney’s office below:
Two Arraigned After Indictments in June Homicides
Two men charged in separate homicides this June remain held without bail following their indictments last week and their Superior Court arraignments today, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.ANTHONY ROBERTSON (D.O.B. 5/19/91) of Dorchester was formally charged this morning with first-degree murder for the June 26 shooting death of 25-year-old Aaron Wornum. Just a few hours later, LAQUAN MILLER (D.O.B. 5/25/94) of Roslindale was charged with the same offense for the June 5 shooting death of Wilfredo Martinez, 23, and the non-fatal shooting of a second 23-year-old man during the same incident.
Acting on requests by Assistant District Attorney Davide Fredette of Conley’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Connie Wong kept in place orders that both men be held without bail as they have been since their previous arraignments in district court.
Speaking at Robertson’s arraignment this morning, Fredette told the court that Wornum and Robertson were known to one another. Wornum had been on his cell phone with a person he was supposed to meet at about 9:00 on the evening he was killed, Fredette said, and phone records show that person to be Robertson.
At about that time, Robertson allegedly drove up to the scene, exited his car, and pulled a gun. He allegedly shot Wornum multiple times, killing him, and stole a gold chain from him.
Just before his death, Wornum is said to have pleaded for his life, saying, “Ant, it doesn’t have to be this way,” or “Ant, you don’t have to do me like this,” Fredette said.
Multiple witnesses have identified Robertson as the shooter, Fredette said.
A few hours later, Fredette recited the facts of the case against Miller, telling the court that Martinez and another man were behind a Brookway Road building shortly after 10:00 p.m. when two other individuals came out from inside that building and opened fire on them. Martinez suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died of his injuries; the second victim survived his injuries but required extensive rehabilitative therapy as a result of them.
Miller was later identified by several individuals as being one of the gunmen, Fredette said. When he spoke to police, Miller allegedly gave multiple alibis that conflicted with one another and the known facts, Fredette said.
The investigation into the identity of the second shooter remains very active even today, Fredette told the court.
Jessica Sheehan is the DA’s victim witness advocate assigned to both cases. Robertson is represented by attorney James Greenberg and will return to court on Oct. 25. Miller is represented by attorney Bruce Carroll and will return to court on Oct. 13.
No Bail in June Slaying on Sumner Street
A Dorchester man was held without bail on a murder charge stemming from the shooting death last month of 25-year-old Aaron Wornum in Dorchester, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.
Assistant District Attorney David Fredette of Conley’s Homicide Unit today recommended that ANTHONY ROBERTSON (D.O.B. 5/19/91) be held without bail pending trial; Dorchester District Court Judge Rosalind Miller granted that request.Fredette told the court that the victim and defendant were known to one another. Phone records obtained by investigators suggest the victim was on his cell phone just before the June 26 shooting, Fredette said, and additional investigation has linked the other phone to the defendant.
Wornum was shot multiple times near the intersection of Sumner and East Cottage streets at about 9:00 that night. He was transported to Boston Medical Center where he died of his injuries.
On Tuesday, amid the ongoing and at times around-the-clock investigation, prosecutors approved a warrant charging Robertson with Wornum’s murder. Late yesterday, members of the Boston Police Fugitive Unit and Youth Violence Strike Force apprehended him at an Arbutus Street residence.
Wornum is represented by attorney James Greenberg. He will return to court on Aug. 15.
