Julius Rivera was an 18-year-old Hispanic man from Plainville remembered by family as funny, smart and quiet. His mother called him her everything and his sister said he had a big heart and cared a lot about people. His life ended in the winter of 2023, the first homicide of the year in Hartford.

On the night of January 11, 2023, Rivera had just left a convenience store in Frog Hollow and was walking to his car near 695 Broad Street when a man in a hooded sweatshirt approached and fired several shots. After he collapsed, the man stepped closer and shot him again at point-blank range before fleeing. A ShotSpotter alert brought officers to the 600 block of Broad Street just before 10 p.m.; Rivera was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 2:02 a.m. on January 12.

Investigators linked a Honda Accord seen leaving the area to a Hartford woman, Sahaira Delucca, who was later arrested and charged with hindering prosecution. Detectives continued to develop the case using DNA, cell phone records and witness statements, and notified Rivera’s mother that they believed he and the alleged shooter did not know each other.

Did anyone in Frog Hollow that night see the Accord or the shooter’s hooded sweatshirt?