In the early morning hours of July 5, 2021, a day meant for celebration, the life of 29-year-old Joshua David Smith, a Black male from Milton, Massachusetts, was violently cut short in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. Smith, a union carpenter with an outgoing personality and a loving spirit, was found by police near the intersection of Seaver Street and Humboldt Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. In a brutal sequence of events, he had also been struck by a car.
Emergency medical services arrived at the scene, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
Joshua was a man of many talents and a beloved member of his community. A graduate of Milton High School, he was a valued employee at Sunrise Erector Inc. in Canton. Beyond his professional life, he had a passion for music, writing lyrics, and producing under the name "Pyrex Jordan." He was a father, leaving behind a young daughter who was the love of his life. His obituary remembered him as someone who was often in the right place at the right time, having saved people from choking and drowning. His sudden and violent death sent shockwaves through his family and friends, who mourned the loss of a man with a zest for life.
For nearly four years, the investigation into Joshua Smith's death continued, a painful period of uncertainty for his loved ones. Then, in the summer of 2025, a significant breakthrough occurred. On July 1st, the Boston Police Fugitive Unit arrested 46-year-old Marc Lamothe of Dorchester in connection with the homicide. The arrest followed a Suffolk County Grand Jury indictment on June 27, 2025, which charged Lamothe with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. The apprehension of a suspect marked a long-awaited step towards justice for Joshua David Smith and his grieving family, though the legal proceedings were just beginning. The case was now set to move to the courts, bringing a new chapter in the painful story of a life taken too soon.
