Shivany Mitchell

Do you know who murdered Shivany and Ralph Mitchell in 1999?
Shivany Mitchell, a 27-year-old African-American woman, and her husband, Ralph Mitchell, 29, were just beginning their life together. They had been married for only eight months and were building a future in Riverside, California. Their time as a married couple, however, was tragically cut short in the winter of 1999, leaving their families with unanswered questions that have lingered for decades.

On Thursday, February 25, 1999, a concerned family member went to check on Shivany and Ralph at their apartment, located at 1251 Massachusetts Avenue, apartment #20. The couple had not been heard from for a few days, and the silence was unsettling. Inside the apartment, the relative made a devastating discovery: Shivany and Ralph had both been shot to death. The promise of their new life together had been violently extinguished within the walls of their own home.

The Riverside Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, but the case proved difficult from the start. Details about a potential motive or the specific circumstances leading up to the couple's deaths have not been publicly released. There were no signs of forced entry, leaving investigators to consider various possibilities. Over the years, detectives have come to believe that there may have been a witness to the double homicide. They also suspect that the person or people responsible may have confided in someone about their involvement in the murders.

The initial investigation generated leads, but none resulted in an arrest. As time passed and new cases demanded attention, the Mitchells' case grew cold. The lack of a resolution has been a source of profound and lasting pain for the families of Shivany and Ralph, who have waited years for justice. The passage of time has not diminished their hope that someone will come forward with the information needed to solve the crime.

The case is now in the hands of the Riverside Police Department's Homicide Cold Case Unit, which continues to seek new information that could finally provide a breakthrough. Detectives believe that even a small, seemingly insignificant detail could be the key to unlocking the truth of what happened to the young couple. They are confident that people in the community hold information that could bring resolution to the case and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

More than two decades later, the murders of Shivany and Ralph Mitchell remain an open and active investigation. The community of Riverside, a city that experienced its share of violence that year, has not forgotten the newlywed couple whose lives were taken so senselessly. The questions of who targeted them and why they were killed are as urgent today as they were in 1999. The Riverside Police Department continues to encourage anyone with information, no matter how minor it may seem, to come forward. Anyone with information about this investigation is urged to contact the Homicide Cold Case Unit at [email protected].