On the evening of May 25, 1994, in Brockton, Massachusetts, a 25-year-old man named Kepler Desir was fatally shot in the head. The incident also resulted in the death of Manuel Araujo, while his brother, Carlos Araujo, survived a gunshot wound to the head. The events of that day unfolded as part of a planned armed robbery.
Earlier on the day of the shooting, an individual named Henry Garcia was at the apartment of Frederick Christian and informed him that he and Desir were planning a
trip to New York City to purchase narcotics. Christian, who was 17 years old at the time, also wanted to buy narcotics but did not have the money and Desir refused to lend him any. Later that day, Russell Horton arrived at Christian's apartment. When they left, Christian took a handgun from under a couch.
That night, Horton and Christian met with the Araujo brothers and Desir. Under Horton's direction, Manuel Araujo drove them to a school parking lot. It was there that Horton shot all three men. Both Kepler Desir and Manuel Araujo died immediately from their injuries. Although Christian was armed, he did not draw his weapon during the incident.
In 1998, Frederick Christian was convicted as a joint venturer in the armed robbery, which led to two first-degree murder convictions under the felony murder rule. He was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. The record identifies Russell Horton as the individual who shot Desir, Manuel Araujo, and Carlos Araujo.
