LaDawn Roberts, 28, was found dead on the rear porch of an abandoned building at 272 Garden Street in Hartford on June 20, 1999. She was five months pregnant. An autopsy showed severe head and neck trauma, including a crushed skull; investigators noted she had last been seen the night before, about 11 p.m., near Albany Avenue and Garden Street in the Upper Albany neighborhood.

The brutality of the injuries led investigators to suspect she had been stomped to death. Between 2000 and 2001 three other Hartford women were found with crushed skulls; forensic links such as cigarette butts and bloody boot prints tied those cases to Matthew Steven Johnson, who was convicted in the other murders and given three consecutive life sentences. Johnson was never officially charged in Roberts’ death, though investigators consider the similarities notable. LaDawn Roberts’ killing remains unsolved.

Anyone with information about LaDawn, her last known movements, or the night of June 19–20, 1999 is asked to come forward.