Velma E. Cuttino, a 43-year-old female, was tragically killed on March 3, 2014, in Newark, New Jersey. She was a lifelong resident of the city, a mother of three, and a grandmother.
On that Monday evening, Cuttino was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband. They were on their way to a store to buy curtain rods when they stopped at a red light at the intersection of Irvine Turner Boulevard and Spruce Street. At approximately 5 p.m., their car was caught in the crossfire of a violent chase. Occupants of a Jeep were pursuing an Oldsmobile Alero, and when the Alero crashed, they opened fire. Cuttino was struck by the gunfire and was pronounced dead at University Hospital later that evening. Investigators confirmed that she was an innocent bystander in the incident.
Another man, Wesley Childs, who was a passenger in the targeted Oldsmobile, was also shot and killed at the scene.
The violence was part of a larger criminal conspiracy involving the New Jersey Grape Street Crips street gang. In July 2018, Corey Hamlet, the leader of the gang, was convicted for his role in six murders, including that of Velma Cuttino. He was subsequently sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison. While the search for the immediate shooters continued after the incident, Hamlet was ultimately held responsible for ordering the violence that led to Cuttino's death.
