In the early morning hours of July 28, 1990, a distressing scene unfolded on the streets of Stratford, Connecticut. At approximately 2:00 a.m., 32-year-old Joseph Mackanesi, a local truck driver and food salesman, managed to flag down a passing police patrol car near the intersection of Soundview and Barnum Avenues. He had been shot.
Before being rushed to the hospital, Mackanesi was able to provide a brief but crucial description of his assailants.
He reported that two Black males had attempted to rob him and had shot him in the process. Tragically, despite being transported for medical attention, Joseph Mackanesi later died from his injuries. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that the cause of his death was a gunshot wound.
In the years that have followed, the case of Joseph Mackanesi's murder has remained unsolved, with no publicly available information about any arrests being made. The identities of the two men responsible for his death are still unknown. The Town of Stratford has offered a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this homicide. The case is now considered a cold case, and authorities continue to seek information from the public to bring closure to the decades-old investigation.
