In the quiet, affluent neighborhood of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the evening of June 8, 1973, was shattered by an eruption of brutal violence that would claim the life of 16-year-old Lita Sonrisa Luby. That fateful night, Lita, a female, was at her family's home on Barbara Drive with her mother, Lois Luby, and her two younger brothers, Toro and Lex. The home belonged to Major Benjamin Coxson, a prominent and controversial figure with known connections to the Philadelphia Black Mafia, and the common-law husband of Lois Luby. The semblance of a peaceful evening was shattered when four men arrived at the residence.
What began as a seemingly cordial conversation quickly descended into a horrific scene of violence. The four visitors drew their weapons and proceeded to bind Coxson, Lois Luby, and her children with neckties. In a cold-blooded act, the assailants shot Coxson, Lois, Lita, and 14-year-old Toro in the back of the head.
Major Coxson was found kneeling by his waterbed, having been shot three times, and died at the scene. Lita sustained a fatal bullet wound to her head. Her 13-year-old brother, Lex, managed a daring escape, crashing through a sliding glass door with his hands and feet still bound and hopping to a neighbor's house to summon help.
Lita was rushed to the hospital, where she remained in critical condition and unconscious until she succumbed to her injuries on June 12, 1973. Her mother and brother Toro, though critically injured, ultimately survived the attack; however, Toro was left blinded in one eye. The motive for the brutal assault was widely believed to be a retaliation against Coxson for a failed heroin deal he was meant to broker with the New York Mafia.
Despite the horrific nature of the crime, the investigation into the murders of Lita Sonrisa Luby and Major Coxson was fraught with challenges. The dangerous reputation of those believed to be involved created a wall of silence, as potential witnesses were too fearful to come forward with information. This reluctance, coupled with a lack of substantial evidence, severely hampered the progress of the case. While the murder weapon, a. 32-caliber revolver, was recovered from a roadside, no significant arrests or convictions ever came from the investigation. The violent and untimely death of Lita Sonrisa Luby remains a tragic consequence of the perilous criminal underworld her family was associated with, a cold case that has left a lasting scar on the community of Cherry Hill.
