In the summer of 2011, the Desire neighborhood of New Orleans was struck by violence that claimed the life of 30-year-old Sentell Travis Crawford. On the evening of Friday, July 8th, police were called to the 3300 block of Higgins Boulevard. There, they discovered Crawford inside a vehicle, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crawford’s death was the second of two homicides that occurred within a short timeframe and close proximity,
prompting a connected investigation. Just a day earlier, on July 7th, 26-year-old Juan Carter was found shot to death in the 3400 block of Pleasure Street, only a few blocks away. The New Orleans Police Department investigated the two slayings as related incidents.
In the years that followed, the investigation into the murders of Sentell Travis Crawford and Juan Carter appears to have stalled, as there have been no publicly reported arrests made in connection with either case. The homicides remain unsolved, and information regarding any potential suspects has not been released by law enforcement officials. The cases have joined the ranks of numerous other cold cases in the city, leaving family and community members without answers or justice for the two men whose lives were cut short.
