Shana Renee Price was a vibrant and talented 17-year-old girl, known for her outgoing and protective nature. The second-oldest of five siblings, Shana grew up in a large Victorian house on Dartmouth Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, raised by her paternal grandmother, Jean Price. Her younger sister, LaQuana, remembered her as someone who could sing, dance, and do hair, a friendly soul who stood up for others so they wouldn't get picked on. Shana was a "dark skin chocolate girl," and after initially internalizing taunts from other kids, she learned to embrace her beauty, often declaring, "Black is beautiful." She was a doting big sister who taught LaQuana how to dance and jump Double Dutch. In October 1989, at the age of 16, Shana’s life changed when she gave birth to a son she named Mark Joseph.
The Christmas of 1990 was spent with family. Shana and her relatives opened presents and relaxed together at her grandmother's home. Her son, Mark, was just 14 months old.
That afternoon, Shana left to visit her baby's father's family, leaving Mark in the care of her grandmother and sister. She was seen later that evening and into the early morning hours of December 26 in Springfield's Upper Hill and Bay neighborhoods. What happened in the hours that followed remains a mystery. At around 6:55 a.m. on December 26, a foreman with the Springfield Parks and Recreation Department made a horrifying discovery at the Roosevelt Avenue entrance to Blunt Park. The nude body of a young female was draped over a wooden fence.
Police arrived to find a bloody scene. The victim was quickly identified as Shana Price. An investigation determined the young mother had been brutally beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death. In the weeks before her murder, Shana had expressed fear after an unsettling encounter. She had told Ludlow police that she had jumped from a moving car to escape a man who she said "wanted to kill me." She gave only a vague description of the man and his vehicle, and it is unknown if this incident was connected to her death.
The investigation into Shana's homicide is led by the Springfield Police Detective Bureau and the Hampden District Attorney's Office. From the outset, forensic evidence yielded a single-source male DNA profile of the killer. This profile was uploaded to local, state, national, and international law enforcement databases beginning in 2003, but no matches were ever found. For decades, the case grew cold, leaving Shana's family without answers and her killer at large. Her son grew up without his mother, and her siblings were left to wonder who was responsible for the violence that tore their family apart.
In December 2022, on the 32nd anniversary of the crime, the Hampden District Attorney’s Office announced a significant development. Using the suspect's DNA, Parabon NanoLabs created composite sketches through a process called DNA phenotyping. The images predicted the appearance of the suspect, a man of West African ancestry with a brown to light-brown complexion, hazel or brown eyes, and black hair, at ages 25 and 57. At a press conference, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni addressed the unknown killer directly: "We have your DNA. We have your genetic characteristics. Justice is coming for you." Shana's sister LaQuana stood with Shana's adult son and pleaded for public help. "Help us United States, help us whoever you are to find this person because we need closure," she said.
The investigation has continued to leverage modern science. In August 2025, investigators announced they were using forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), a technique that combines DNA analysis with genealogical research to identify a suspect's relatives and narrow the search. Community outreach became a key part of this new effort, with investigators hosting voluntary DNA collection drives, including one at the Springfield Caribbean Carnival and another during a holiday toy drive in December 2025. These events were designed to gather samples from the public to help build the family tree of the unknown suspect.
As of December 2025, Shana Price's murder remains unsolved, but it is an active and open investigation. The Hampden District Attorney’s Office and Springfield Police Department remain committed to finding justice for Shana and providing closure for her family. Anyone with information about the murder of Shana Renee Price is urged to contact the Hampden District Attorney’s Office tipline at 413-432-9881 or the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at 413-787-6355. Tips can also be submitted by texting the word SOLVE and a message to 274637.
