On March 17, 2015, 30-year-old Lilliana Restrepo of Wethersfield was found shot to death inside an apartment on Congress Street in Hartford. Police were called about 4:30 p.m. and discovered her body; officers recovered a gun at the scene that investigators believed was the murder weapon.

Two men who had been at the residence were initially treated as witnesses, and the investigation quickly focused on one resident. Authorities arrested 38-year-old Anthony Pernell and charged him with murder along with firearm and narcotics offenses. Pernell was held on $2 million bond. Investigators said there was evidence suggesting the scene may have been staged to look like a suicide. The motive has not been released.