In the summer of 2015, the life of 41-year-old Shakiem H.B. Williams, a man from New York, was violently cut short on a street in Pittsburgh's Crafton Heights neighborhood. On the evening of July 30th, multiple reports of gunshots drew Pittsburgh police to Woodlow Street. There, they discovered Williams' body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 9 p.m. The initial investigation revealed that Williams was the victim of a robbery that had turned fatal.
During a struggle with his assailants, he was shot multiple times.
The case remained unsolved for years, a source of ongoing grief for Williams' family, who remembered him as a beloved son, brother, and father. Investigators diligently pursued leads, and a critical piece of evidence found at the crime scene, a piece of a dreadlock, would ultimately prove to be the key to unlocking the case. The victim's phone also provided early leads, pointing to two persons of interest and a common link between them: a man named Aaron Cross.
A significant breakthrough came four years after the tragic event. In February 2019, Aaron Cross was arrested on unrelated drug and gun charges. As a result of this arrest, his DNA was entered into a national database. This routine procedure yielded a crucial match; within days, Allegheny County police were notified that Cross's DNA sample matched the DNA found on the dreadlock from the Woodlow Street crime scene. This forensic link provided the evidence needed to move forward with the investigation into Williams' death, offering his family a measure of answers after years of waiting. The suspects, who were also from New York, were eventually arrested and faced multiple charges, including murder, robbery, and conspiracy.
