On a tragic Easter Sunday in Brooklyn, a young man's life was cut short, leaving a family heartbroken and a community searching for answers. Kester Anthony, a 23-year-old male, was fatally shot on April 16, 2017, in the Canarsie neighborhood. The vibrant streets of Brooklyn turned into a scene of sorrow when Anthony was discovered with two gunshot wounds to his head at the corner of East 96th Street and Glenwood Road around 9:30 p.m.
Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene, his life stolen in a brazen act of violence.
In the days that followed, a clearer picture of Kester Anthony, known to his friends as 'Rich,' began to emerge. He was a new father, a role he had embraced with a renewed sense of purpose. His family, overwhelmed by grief, remembered him as a good kid who was always happy and smiling. His mother, Deslyn Anthony, faced the unimaginable task of cleaning her own son's blood from the sidewalk where he had fallen. She spoke of her heartbreak, of losing her only son who she said had been changing his ways for his newborn child. His sister, Amanda, described the perpetrators as cowards for taking him away for no reason.
The investigation into Kester Anthony's murder pointed towards a possible gang-related motive. Police believed he may have been involved in a dispute with a group of men shortly before the shooting. Surveillance footage captured the chilling moments when a lone assailant approached Anthony from behind and fired twice before fleeing. In a strange and unsettling turn, detectives suspected that the killer may have been among the mourners who gathered for a candlelight vigil in Anthony's honor. A detective at the memorial service noted that it was common for perpetrators to attend such events to gauge the police investigation. This suspicion cast a dark shadow over the gathering of grieving friends and family.
Despite the initial leads and the strong suspicions of law enforcement, the case grew cold. Investigators were seeking as many as four male suspects in connection with the shooting. The police department's theory that the suspect was a gang member with dreadlocks who likely lived in the neighborhood did not immediately lead to a breakthrough. As of now, there is no publicly available information to suggest that any arrests have been made or that any suspects have been formally charged in connection with the murder of Kester Anthony. The case remains a painful and unresolved chapter for his loved ones, a stark reminder of a life taken too soon and a quest for justice that continues.
