On the evening of August 19, 1988, 12-year-old Darlene Tiffany Moore was sitting atop a mailbox on Humboldt Avenue in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, chatting with friends, when two masked assailants opened fire into the crowd. Stray bullets struck Darlene, one in the head, and she was killed; the shooters were reportedly aiming at a rival gang member during a violent feud between local drug dealers. The killing of an innocent child provoked widespread outrage across the city.

Within ten days investigators arrested 23-year-old Shawn Drumgold of Roxbury and later identified Terrence Taylor of Dorchester as a suspect. The prosecution’s case against Drumgold relied primarily on a key eyewitness. In October 1989 Drumgold was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Years afterward the key witness recanted and new information emerged suggesting police had withheld evidence favorable to the defense, and Drumgold’s conviction was later overturned and he was released. The murder of Darlene Tiffany Moore remains officially unsolved.

If anyone knew Darlene, was present on Humboldt Avenue that night, or has information that could help, please share what is known.