Do you know who murdered two women by the Franklin Park Zoo? On a summer evening in Boston, the life of a young African-American woman, Genevieve Phillip, aged 22, was tragically cut short. On August 12, 2012, Phillip and three friends were sitting in a parked car on Harlem Street in the Mattapan neighborhood when they were ambushed in a hail of gunfire. The brutal attack resulted in the deaths of Phillip, along with her friends Kristen Lartey and Sharrice Perkins, both also 22.
A fourth woman in the vehicle was wounded but survived the assault.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, investigators determined that the attack was not a random act of violence. Police officials suggested that the shooting was likely gang-related and that one of the women had been specifically targeted, though they did not publicly identify which one. The four women, who were high school classmates, had attended a large gathering at the Shattuck Picnic Grove in Franklin Park shortly before the deadly encounter. Authorities appealed to the public for any information from those who may have been at the gathering and seen the women.
Despite the initial flood of tips and ongoing pleas from law enforcement and the victims' families, the case has grown cold. Investigators released surveillance images of a light-colored SUV, believed to be a newer model white Saturn Vue or Chevrolet Captiva, that was seen in the vicinity of the shooting, but the vehicle and its occupants have never been identified. In the years that have followed, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been officially named in the triple homicide. The murder of Genevieve Phillip, a young mother, and her two friends remains an unsolved tragedy, leaving their families and the community searching for answers and justice that have yet to come.
