In the early morning hours of a late June day in 2012, the lives of two young men from Pittsburgh were tragically cut short. The bodies of 15-year-old Deondre Kenny, a Black male, and 21-year-old Matthew Todd Burton were discovered inside a car in the Perry South neighborhood of the city. A passerby on Buena Vista Street noticed the vehicle around 6 a.m. and called for help.
When authorities arrived, they found both Kenny and Burton had been shot in the head.
Investigators at the time believed the double homicide was not a random act of violence. The shooting was suspected to be connected to a growing and violent feud between gangs operating on Pittsburgh's North Side. It was reported that in the days leading up to the discovery of Kenny and Burton, there had been a significant increase in gunfire in the area. Police suggested that Burton may have had ties to a group known as the Brighton Heights Crypts.
Despite the initial belief that the murders were gang-related, the investigation into the deaths of Deondre Kenny and Matthew Todd Burton has since gone cold. In the years that have passed since the shooting, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with the case. The brutal deaths of the two young men remain an unsolved crime, leaving their families without answers and the perpetrators still at large. The case is now listed among Pittsburgh's cold cases, a grim reminder of a violent day that claimed two lives and left a community searching for justice.
