On July 1, 1993, a domestic disturbance at a Chester, Pennsylvania home ended in murder. When Officer Connie Hawkins responded to a reported disturbance at 43-year-old Marie Bates’ residence, the door was opened by Bates’ former boyfriend, Sherman T. Craver, who shot and killed Officer Hawkins and then fatally shot Marie Bates in the presence of Bates’ nine-year-old son. The boy witnessed the killings.

Craver fled to Delaware but was arrested about three hours later; a firearm registered to him was found in his car and ballistics testing linked it to the murders. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Trial testimony noted Craver was a Philadelphia Housing Authority police officer and was reportedly facing pending charges that could have affected his job. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder for both deaths and imposed two death sentences, a verdict later upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Anyone who knew Marie Bates or was in Chester that day and has additional information is asked to come forward.