On a cold December evening in 2020, the grim discovery of a burning car in Hartford would unravel a tragic story of kidnapping and murder. Shortly before 9 p.m. on December 26th, authorities responded to a vehicle fire on Shultas Place. After extinguishing the flames engulfing the black Acura, investigators found a male body in the back of the car. The victim was later identified as 28-year-old Francisco Roman, Jr. of Chicopee, Massachusetts.
An autopsy would reveal that he had been shot multiple times, and the medical examiner determined the gunshot wounds to be the cause of his death.
The investigation into the death of the Hispanic male quickly crossed state lines, revealing a harrowing tale that began two days earlier. On December 24, 2020, Francisco Roman, Jr. was kidnapped at gunpoint from his own apartment in Chicopee. He was forced into the trunk of his vehicle and driven to Connecticut. The subsequent investigation, a collaborative effort involving the FBI's Northern Connecticut and Springfield Gang Task Forces, Hartford Police, and other law enforcement agencies, pieced together the events that led to Roman's demise.
Within a couple of months, the investigation led to the arrests of two men. In February 2021, Brandon Batiste, 33, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Calvin Roberson, 38, of Waterbury, Connecticut, were federally charged in connection with the crime. The charges against them included kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm.
The legal proceedings brought some measure of justice for Roman's family. Brandon Batiste pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Francisco Roman, Jr. and in December 2023, he was sentenced to 42 years in federal prison. His accomplice, Calvin Roberson, also pleaded guilty in April of that same year and was awaiting sentencing. The motive for the kidnapping and subsequent murder was not detailed in the available information.
