Matthew B. Novak was 24 and from Mullica Hill, New Jersey, when he was killed after a trip to the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Philadelphia in September 2008. Around 6th and Green Streets the car Novak and his friends were in wouldn’t start. He flagged down a blue Chevrolet Impala with New Jersey plates whose three occupants offered to help. Novak told his friends he was going with them to get jumper cables and got into their car.

At 13th and Fairmount Avenues, as Novak was exiting the vehicle, one of the occupants shot him in the hip. The suspects fled and Novak died of his wounds on September 28, 2008. Witnesses described the suspects as two to three Black males; Novak still had his personal effects when taken to the hospital, and robbery does not appear to have been the motive. Surveillance footage of the vehicle circulated but no arrests were ever made.

Anyone with information that could help identify the occupants of the Impala or explain the motive is asked to come forward.