On the evening of June 18, 1995, William Dawson, 27, was staying with Stacey Smith in a room at the Star Motel on Black Horse Pike in Monroe Township, New Jersey, when a man forced his way in and opened fire. Dawson was shot once in the chest and died of that wound. Smith was shot in the neck and survived; her 4-year-old son, who was in the room, was not physically harmed.

The shooter was identified as Darnell Collins, whose attacks were part of a multi-day rampage across New Jersey and New York that left seven people dead and three others injured around the same time. A multi-state manhunt ended on June 21, 1995, when officers located Collins in Nutley, New Jersey, and he was killed during the confrontation. With the suspect deceased, there were no arrests or trials in Dawson’s killing and the investigative file was closed.

If anyone knew William Dawson or has information about his last hours at the Star Motel, please share what you know.