Robert Joyal was 18 when he was fatally stabbed in the early morning hours of April 4, 1998, during a chaotic brawl in the parking lot of a Denny’s on Congress Street in Portland, Maine. The night began as a celebration: Joyal had just moved out of his family home in Gorham and into a Portland apartment with a friend. The melee, said to involve as many as 50 people, followed an argument that started earlier at a different location and carried over to the late-night gathering spot.

Joyal was stabbed multiple times in the back around 1:00 a.m. Despite numerous onlookers, many were uncooperative with investigators, and police reported the investigation was hampered by a lack of forthcoming witnesses amid concerns about reprisal and possible gang involvement. A 15-year-old, Seiha Srey, was arrested weeks later and spent 18 months in custody before charges were dropped amid inconsistent evidence and competing witness accounts suggesting another person, Kevin Janosco, struck Joyal.

Srey was later killed in an unrelated 2007 shooting. The Portland Police Department lists Joyal’s death as an open homicide. Does anyone who was in that area that night remember details that could help bring answers?