On the morning of February 27, 2025, gunfire was reported at a home on Allen Park Road in Springfield, Massachusetts. Inside the residence, 54-year-old Leslie Westbrook, a woman, had been shot and died at the scene. An adult man was also found wounded and taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Springfield Police Department’s Homicide Unit opened an intensive investigation under Captain Trent Duda.

Detectives worked for months on the case and identified a suspect. On July 2, 2025, officers executed an arrest warrant at a Stapleton Road residence and took 60-year-old Robert Hatcher into custody without incident. Hatcher was arraigned in Springfield District Court on multiple charges stemming from the February shooting, including murder, assault with a firearm with intent to murder, armed robbery and several firearms-related offenses.

What information do readers who knew Leslie or have tips about the February 27 incident in Springfield have to share?