In the early morning hours of February 23, 2006, 19-year-old Sara Palenza, a Hispanic female from East Hartford, Connecticut, was caught in a burst of gunfire that tragically ended her life. She was the unintended victim of a violent attack aimed at the man driving the car in which she was a passenger. The incident occurred at the intersection of Albany Avenue and Garden Street in Hartford, a location that would become the scene of a homicide that remains unsolved.
Sara had been spending
time with Dementrius Nave, a man with a significant criminal record and numerous encounters with violence. On that fateful night, Sara was in the front passenger seat of a rental car Nave was driving. As they passed through the intersection, a gunman unleashed seven shots from a. 45 caliber handgun into the vehicle. While Nave managed to duck and avoid being hit, a bullet struck Sara in the back of the head.
Nave immediately sped away from the scene and drove directly to St. Francis Hospital. Despite his efforts to get her medical help, Sara's injuries were too severe. She was found to be brain-dead upon arrival and succumbed to her injuries later that day. The investigation into her death revealed that Nave was the intended target. This was not the first time he had been shot at while with a female companion; just weeks earlier, another woman named Wendy Williams was killed while sitting in a car with Nave, who was again the apparent target. In the week leading up to her death, Sara herself had been in a car with Nave when it was shot at, though they both escaped injury in that instance.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Hartford Police identified several persons of interest, but the case stalled due to a lack of cooperation from witnesses. No arrests have ever been made in connection with Sara Palenza's murder. Her case is now considered a cold case, one of many in Hartford County. A substantial reward is being offered for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her death. Sara, a graduate of East Hartford High School who worked at area day-care centers and a Victoria's Secret store, was remembered by her family as a young woman who enjoyed music, reading, and writing poetry.
