Melvin Baskerville, a 58-year-old Black man who lived at 79-81 Mather Street in Hartford, was shot in the early hours of March 15, 2019. ShotSpotter detected gunfire about 1 a.m. in the Clay Arsenal neighborhood, and officers went to 114 Mather Street, where Baskerville was found in a rear stairwell with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and had emergency surgery but died from his injuries.

The Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division opened an investigation. In the days and weeks after the shooting, authorities did not publicly release a motive or identify a person of interest, and no suspects were taken into custody. The case remained an open, unsolved homicide as of late 2025.

Does anyone who lived in or near the Clay Arsenal neighborhood in March 2019 have information that could help investigators or the family?