In the quiet suburban town of Teaneck, New Jersey, the dream of a better life for the Diggs family turned into a chilling nightmare on December 6, 1975. The family, who had moved from Harlem seeking safety and better opportunities, became the center of a brutal crime that remains unsolved to this day. Among the victims was five-year-old Roger Diggs, a young male whose life was tragically cut short.
The family was African-American.
On that cold December afternoon, Wesley Diggs, Roger's father and a successful businessman who owned several establishments in Harlem, returned to his Teaneck home after being away for a couple of nights. He walked into a scene of unimaginable horror. His wife, Jean, and their four children, including young Roger, had all been shot to death. The gruesome discovery shattered the peace of the suburban community and launched an intensive investigation.
Roger and his 12-year-old brother, Wesley Jr., were found together in a bedroom, both having been shot multiple times. Their mother, Jean, and two older sisters, Audrey and Allison, were also found deceased in different parts of the house. The lack of forced entry suggested that the perpetrator or perpetrators were known to the family and had been let into the home. Despite a thorough investigation, robbery was ruled out as a motive, as nothing of value appeared to be missing.
The police investigation explored various theories, including the possibility that Wesley Diggs' business dealings in Harlem had led to a revenge killing, or that the crime was a robbery gone wrong. Wesley Diggs was initially considered a person of interest but was cleared after passing a polygraph test. Another theory entertained by some investigators was that it was a murder-suicide, but the evidence did not conclusively support this. An informant later suggested that a man and his girlfriend had intended to rob the family, believing Wesley Diggs kept large amounts of cash in the house, but this lead never resulted in any arrests. To this day, the case of who killed Roger Diggs and his family remains cold, a haunting mystery that has left a permanent scar on the community and all who remember the tragic event. No suspects have ever been officially named or charged, and the brutal murder of the young boy and his family remains an unsolved tragedy.
