Do you know who murdered Robert Joyal? In the early morning hours of April 4, 1998, Robert Joyal, an 18-year-old Caucasian male, was fatally stabbed in a chaotic brawl that erupted in the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant on Congress Street in Portland, Maine. The night had begun with a sense of newfound independence for Joyal, who had just moved out of his family's home in Gorham and into a Portland apartment with a friend.
He and his friends were celebrating this new chapter in his life.
The altercation reportedly involved a large group of individuals, with some accounts suggesting as many as 50 people were present when the violence broke out around 1:00 a.m. An argument that began earlier in the evening at another location is believed to have carried over to the Denny's, a popular late-night gathering spot. During the melee, Joyal was stabbed multiple times in the back. Despite the number of onlookers, many were uncooperative with the ensuing police investigation, and the case was quickly hampered by a lack of forthcoming witnesses. Investigators believe that fear of reprisal, possibly due to gang involvement, contributed to the silence.
In the weeks following the stabbing, a 15-year-old named Seiha Srey was arrested and charged with Joyal's murder. The arrest was based in part on the testimony of Srey's then-girlfriend, who told police he had confessed to the killing. Srey spent 18 months in custody, but the charges were ultimately dropped due to inconsistent evidence and the emergence of an alternative theory. Another witness claimed to have seen a different individual, Kevin Janosco, striking Joyal in the back. With conflicting accounts and not enough evidence for a conviction, the case against Srey did not proceed to trial.
Tragically, Seiha Srey was shot and killed in an unrelated incident in 2007, further complicating the unresolved case. To this day, Robert Joyal's murder remains unsolved, one of Portland's lingering cold cases. His family continues to seek answers and advocates for witnesses to come forward with any information that might finally bring clarity to the events of that fatal night. The Portland Police Department continues to list the case as an open homicide and encourages anyone with information to contact them.
