Ashley Silva

Ashley K. Silva was a young man caught between two worlds, remembered by his family for his compassion and caring nature, yet pulled back into the street life of his hometown. His mother, Kerry Capello, had moved them to Seattle when Ashley was a baby, hoping to give him a life away from the trouble she saw in New Bedford, Massachusetts. They returned 13 years later to care for an ailing relative. Ashley, a 21-year-old male, tried to fit in, but the button-down shirts and strict curfews from his West Coast upbringing didn't mesh with the local scene. For a time, he lived with an aunt and uncle in New Jersey, where he attended high school and earned a business diploma. But he missed his mother and eventually returned to New Bedford. His family watched with concern as he got "caught up in the streets again." Just five days after being released from state prison, his life was cut short.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, August 28, 2005, trouble was brewing on Ruth Street in New Bedford's South End. A crowded house party at 115 Ruth Street was underway when a confrontation began. Around 2:00 a.m., the dispute spilled away from the party, escalating into a large melee near the intersection of Ruth and Viall Streets. Witnesses said about 20 people were involved in the fight. During the chaos, an assailant armed with a knife stabbed Ashley in the torso. According to his aunt, Rhonda Capello, who heard the story from his friends, the fight started over a quarrel between one of Ashley's friends and another man. When one of Ashley's friends threw a punch, the adversary with the knife attacked. After stabbing Ashley, the attacker fired several gunshots into the air, apparently to cover his escape.

Ashley’s friends rushed him to St. Luke's Hospital, but his wounds were too severe, and he died shortly after arriving. New Bedford Police were called to the hospital to manage a crowd that had gathered outside. While there, officers investigated an argument nearby and discovered a loaded handgun on a street corner that had been hastily abandoned. Back at the scene of the fight, detectives found several spent shell casings. Investigators were initially unsure if the gunshots were directly related to the stabbing or were a coincidental event in a night marked by violence in the neighborhood.

The investigation into Ashley's homicide has been active for nearly two decades, led by the New Bedford Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. In the years following his death, authorities have continued to seek leads. Ashley's case was included in a unique initiative by the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit, which created decks of playing cards featuring unsolved homicides and missing persons. These cards were distributed to inmates in state correctional facilities, with the hope that someone with knowledge of the crimes might come forward. Ashley's card notes that he was stabbed during a fight involving several people and that "someone saw who stabbed Ashley."

Ashley's family has been left to grapple with his violent death and the life he led. His mother vehemently denied that her son was a gangster or a drug dealer, though she wondered if her warnings to him ever sank in. "He used to say 'Mom, I know, I know, I know.' Ashley didn't know," she said after his death. His past included a conviction for assault and firearms charges stemming from a 2002 incident where he and another man shot at a car, injuring two people. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, the term he had just completed before his murder. His family believes the fatal stabbing was a random act of violence during a chaotic fight. "I don't think the person knew who he was stabbing. It just happened to be Ashley," his aunt said.

His mother’s grief was compounded by the location of his death. "I feel like the same city I left for my son is the same city that took my son," she said. "And now it's a ghost town because I'm here without my son in the city I never wanted." His grandmother, Albertina Silva, passed away in 2014, having been predeceased by her grandson.

As of August 2023, Ashley Silva's murder remains unsolved. The Massachusetts State Police continue to ask for the public's help in bringing his killer to justice. Anyone with information about the stabbing that occurred at the intersection of Ruth and Viall Streets is urged to call the state police tip line at 1-855-MA-SOLVE (855-627-6583).