Eric Devon Poppy Payne was 31 when he was killed in Chester, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 2000. The death occurred in the early morning on Bunting Street during a violent encounter that involved a robbery and the beating of another man, Robert Chubb Rock Hill. Payne was struck by a single gunshot wound to the head and died at the scene.

Prosecutors later focused on Joseph Eli Moss as the alleged perpetrator, saying the firearm discharged during the assault on Hill and that Payne was hit in that moment. The trial rested largely on witness identifications, including testimony from Hill. Moss’s defense challenged those identifications and highlighted the absence of physical evidence tying him to the shooting; Moss did not testify.

In February 2001 a jury acquitted Moss of all charges related to Payne’s death, leaving no conviction in the case. Payne’s death remains the central fact: a sudden, violent killing that deprived family and community of a man known by the nickname Poppy and left unanswered questions about what transpired on Bunting Street that morning.

Does anyone have information about Eric Payne, his life in Chester, or what happened that morning that could help shed light on the case?