On the night of October 4, 2019, 43-year-old Petra Rhoden was working as a DoorDash delivery driver in Paterson, New Jersey, when she was shot while sitting in her vehicle on Harrison Street. Police responded to shots fired near Harrison Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard at about 10:22 p.m. and found Rhoden in the driver’s seat after her vehicle had crashed through a fence and into a shed; officers began CPR and she was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly afterward. Her family described her as a sweet, loving person who supported her family and also worked in the music industry.

Investigators arrested 34-year-old Quadir Whitaker of East Orange on October 21, 2019. Prosecutors say Whitaker followed Rhoden during her deliveries and later admitted to driving the vehicle that transported the shooter to and from the scene; he pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced in October 2022 to ten years in New Jersey State Prison. The person believed to have fired the shots has not been identified and remains at large, and the motive for the killing has not been established.

If anyone knew Petra Rhoden, saw her working in that neighborhood on October 4, 2019, or has information about the shooter, please come forward.