Wyanya Archer, a 17-year-old Black male from Philadelphia, was only a few months from graduating high school when his life was cut short on March 11, 2010. His family described him as a young man who was moving in the right direction, an honor roll student who loved sports and played football, baseball and ran track. He had plans for life after graduation, including working as a welder and buying his first car, and his mother, Ivy Connelly, said he had a lot to look forward to.
That Thursday night, around 8:30 p.m., Wyanya was with friends on the 4600 block of Hurley Street in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia. According to accounts given by his friends and family, he received a phone call from a girl and told the group he was going around the corner to meet her. Moments after he stepped away, the night turned violent. His mother said the friends told her that as soon as he walked off the steps and around the corner, someone got out of a van, chased him and began shooting. His stepfather, Glenn Turner, described it as an ambush.
Wyanya collapsed in the street after being shot multiple times in the back. He was taken to a hospital, but he later died from his injuries. The only suspect description publicly reported was limited: police were told the shooter was connected to a light-colored minivan, possibly white or silver. No publicly available online source located provided a suspect's name, arrest, charges, trial outcome or conviction in the case.
His family believed people close to the situation knew more than they were saying. Ivy Connelly said she believed the people around Wyanya knew what happened and who was responsible. In the months after the killing, the family hoped a $3,000 reward would help bring forward information leading to an arrest and conviction. As publicly reported, the case remained framed as a search for the person who murdered Wyanya Archer, with investigators asking anyone with information to contact authorities.
