Orlando Sanchez, a 28-year-old Hispanic male, was tragically shot and killed on September 8, 2012, in Trenton, New Jersey. His death sent ripples through the community, leaving behind a case that remains officially unsolved, with no individuals ever being charged or convicted for his murder. The circumstances surrounding his death are intertwined with a previous violent encounter that foreshadowed the fatal shooting.
Just two weeks before he was gunned down, Sanchez was the victim of an
attempted murder. In that incident, a man named Juan Colon allegedly fired a shot at Sanchez inside his Elm Street home on August 25, 2012. The altercation reportedly stemmed from a dispute involving Colon's girlfriend, who was at Sanchez's residence at the time. Witnesses testified that an enraged Colon fired a single shot at Sanchez as he fled up a staircase.
Following the September 8th shooting that claimed Sanchez's life, investigators quickly identified Juan Colon as a person of interest. His suspicious behavior of fleeing to Florida in the days after the homicide further solidified their interest in him. U.S. Marshals eventually apprehended Colon in Florida. Despite being a prime suspect in the murder investigation, authorities were never able to bring charges against him for Sanchez's death.
The legal proceedings that followed focused solely on the August 25th attempted murder. During this trial, details of the earlier confrontation emerged, painting a picture of the animosity that existed between the two men. Ultimately, a jury returned a mixed verdict in the attempted murder trial of Colon. While this provided a measure of justice for the earlier incident, it left the family of Orlando Sanchez with lingering questions and no definitive answers about who was responsible for his death. The murder of Orlando Sanchez remains an open and unresolved case.
