In the winter of 1993, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of 17-year-old Annette Medina in the Bronx, New York. On the night of February 14th, a day typically associated with love and affection, Annette was in an apartment on Prospect Avenue when a group of armed men entered the building through a broken door. Their target was a man named Edwin Santiago over a drug-related dispute, but the violence that ensued would tragically engulf everyone present.
Annette, along with five other individuals, became victims of what would be grimly dubbed the 'St. Valentine's Day Massacre.'
The scene discovered by authorities was one of immense brutality. Annette, along with Miguel Rivera, 22, Christopher Hernandez, 15, and Edwin Santiago, 17, had been shot execution-style. The other two victims, 40-year-old Julia Santana and her 26-year-old daughter Maria Santana, were also found shot to death. The callous nature of the killings sent a shockwave through the community and prompted a significant law enforcement response to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The investigation into the sextuple homicide led to the arrests of five men: Anthony Casellas, Luis Ramos, Eliot Lopez, Luis Romero, and Edgardo Rosado. Their motive was determined to be a dispute with Edwin Santiago. The legal proceedings that followed were extensive, but ultimately, all five men were convicted for their roles in the brutal murders and were each sentenced to life in prison. In a separate civil action, the management of the apartment building was found partially liable for the deaths due to inadequate security, which allowed the killers to gain easy access to the premises.
