Nico Saraceni

Nico Saraceni was a writer, a poet, and a film buff with what his family called a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. The 29-year-old male from Newtown, Connecticut, had a special love for horror movies and the films of David Lynch. His family recalled him once analyzing the film *Mulholland Drive* with such insight that a nearby Yale film professor was impressed and gave him his card. Nico’s favorite poem was "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. He was a student at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), majoring in interdisciplinary studies and set to graduate in the spring of 2023. He had transferred to SCSU in the fall of 2021 after attending Keene State University. To support himself, he worked at the iconic Frank Pepe's pizzeria on Wooster Street, where his friendly nature earned him friends like Linda Barone, who remembered him as "so sweet."

On the night of October 10, 2022, Nico was outside his apartment building at 623 Whalley Avenue in New Haven. Between 9:23 and 9:30 p.m., while he was smoking a cigarette, he was attacked. An assailant stabbed him in the chest in what police have described as an apparently random act of violence. The single stab wound perforated his heart and lung. Nico was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have not established a motive for the attack and said Nico was not involved in any wrongdoing.

The New Haven Police Department launched a homicide investigation, with Detective Freddy Salmeron as the lead on the case. A witness reported seeing a tall, heavy-set Black man wearing a gray suit or sweatsuit walking east on Whalley Avenue right after the stabbing. Investigators also obtained grainy surveillance video that showed a person matching that description walking along the avenue around the time of the attack, but the assault itself was not captured on camera. No murder weapon has been recovered.

Nico's family has been devastated by the sudden and senseless loss. His sister, Isabella, described the feeling of his absence as a "phantom limb." His mother, Brenda, said, "This is such a traumatic and senseless loss. He was a son, a brother, a grandson. Nico was a good man… We’ve gone through months of heartache." His father, Bob, while acknowledging that "We don’t feel we can ever have justice," urged anyone with information to come forward to prevent the attacker from harming someone else. The family has pleaded for witnesses to speak up, stating, "We know in our hearts that there are people who know who killed our son, and are frustrated over the fact that no one will speak up."

To honor his memory, Nico's family established the Nico Saraceni Memorial Scholarship at Southern Connecticut State University, which awards $2,500 each year to a student in the interdisciplinary studies program. The first scholarship was awarded in 2023. In July 2022, just months before his death, Nico’s poetry was publicly displayed for the first time in a collaborative exhibition with his sister's paintings. On the one-year anniversary of his murder, his family had a Mass said for him at their church in Newtown, visited his grave, and gathered for a large Italian meal to remember his life.

As of December 2024, the homicide of Nico Saraceni remains an open, unsolved cold case. Detective Salmeron noted in October 2023 that the case was "leaning to go cold." The State of Connecticut and the New Haven Police Department are offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Haven Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 203-946-6304 or the Cold Case Unit at 1-866-623-8058. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-866-888-TIPS.