In the quiet, early morning hours of January 8, 2010, the life of 25-year-old Caucasian female, Darien Leigh Richardson, was irrevocably altered. While asleep in her Portland, Maine apartment on Rackleff Street with her boyfriend, Cory Girard, intruders burst in and opened fire into their bedroom. Richardson was struck by bullets in her left hand and right leg, with a bullet lodging in her hip.
Rushed to the hospital, she spent two days in intensive care and another 18 days hospitalized, enduring immense physical and emotional pain as she began the arduous process of recovery.
Initially, both Richardson and Girard, who was grazed by a bullet, were expected to survive their injuries. However, weeks later, on February 28, 2010, Richardson died unexpectedly from a blood clot that formed as a complication of her gunshot wounds. Her life was cut short, leaving her family and friends devastated.
The investigation into Darien Richardson's homicide has been fraught with challenges and remains unsolved. A significant breakthrough occurred when the handgun used to shoot her was recovered in February 2010 at the scene of another, unrelated murder. Ballistic testing confirmed that the bullet from Richardson's hip was fired from this weapon. The investigation traced the gun to its original purchaser, who had legally bought it at a retail store. However, he had subsequently sold it privately at a gun show to an unknown individual without a background check or any record of the sale, creating a dead end for investigators.
Suspicion in the case has often turned towards her boyfriend at the time, Cory Girard. Police believe the shooting was connected to Girard's involvement in dealing OxyContin between New York and Maine. Richardson's parents believe that Girard was the intended target of the home invasion. While Girard was initially uncooperative with the investigation, he began to cooperate after his arrest in November 2014 on a federal charge of possessing a firearm while being a user of marijuana. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to this charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Authorities have stated that Girard's gun was not the weapon used in the shooting, and no one has ever been officially named as a suspect in Darien Richardson's murder. The case remains open, with her family continuing to offer a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
