Jorden Anthony Williams, a charming and athletic young man whose smile could light up a room, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 7, 1989, to Shirley Robbins and Anthony Williams. Remembered for his love of laughter, Jorden was a fan of the New York Giants and enjoyed playing chess. The 28-year-old Black/African American man from Bloomfield was cherished by his parents, two brothers, two sisters, and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. His life was abruptly and violently ended on a summer afternoon in his birth city.
On Wednesday, July 26, 2017, shortly after 1 p.m., Jorden was sitting in his Toyota Camry with a female companion in a parking lot behind 75 Sumner Street in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood. The woman later told police that she saw a man peering around a corner, which made Jorden uneasy. He told her they needed to leave because the person looked suspicious.
As she got out of the car and ran, she made what she described as “solid eye contact” with the man, who had a “crazed” look. She then heard a single gunshot and turned to see the man standing over Jorden. Hartford Police officers responded to reports of the shooting and found Jorden with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was rushed to St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division immediately began an investigation. Early on, investigators reviewed video evidence and stated they believed the killing was not a random act and that the suspect and victim knew each other. One initial report suggested the motive may have been related to drugs. In the hours after the shooting, community leaders, including Reverend Henry Brown and members of Mothers United Against Violence, held a vigil to decry the violence that had taken another young life in the city.
The investigation continued for over two years. A key witness, the woman who was with Jorden moments before he was killed, identified a man from a Facebook photograph as the person she saw in the parking lot. This led Hartford detectives to secure an arrest warrant for Javon Boderick, a resident of Hartford. On January 10, 2020, police arrested Boderick, then 35, without incident. He was charged with murder and criminal possession of a firearm and held on a $1.5 million bond. Court records showed Boderick was on parole at the time of his arrest and had a history of prior gun and drug-related offenses.
In October 2023, just as his trial was about to begin, Javon Boderick accepted a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. On December 5, 2023, he appeared for sentencing before Superior Court Judge David Gold. During the hearing, the judge noted the profound grace of Jorden's family, mentioning that his mother had come to court and said she prayed for Boderick's family. The judge told Boderick, "I hope you think about Jordan every night," and remarked that for Jorden's family, his death was a nightmare from which they could never wake.
Judge Gold sentenced Boderick, then 35, to eight years in prison. The sentence is to be followed by a period of probation, and if he violates the conditions of his release, he could be ordered to serve an additional 10 years. The case, which had remained open for over six years, was officially closed with the sentencing in December 2023. Jorden Williams is remembered by his loved ones as a man who loved to laugh and whose life was tragically cut short.
