On a summer night in Paterson, New Jersey, the Lafayette Bar and Grill became the scene of a brutal crime that would resonate for decades. In the early morning hours of June 17, 1966, two men walked into the establishment and opened fire. The bartender, a man named James Oliver, was killed in the violent outburst.
The shooting spree left not only Mr. Oliver dead at the scene, but also a patron, Fred Nauyoks.
A third individual, Hazel Tanis, succumbed to her injuries in a hospital a month later. There was one survivor of the initial attack, Willie Marins, who was wounded but managed to live. The assailants were described by the witnesses as two Black men.
Shortly after the tragic event, police apprehended two suspects, Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a notable middleweight boxer, and his associate, John Artis. The pair were subsequently charged with the triple homicide. Their initial arrest was followed by a conviction in 1967, which handed them life sentences. However, this was only the beginning of a long and arduous legal battle.
The convictions of Carter and Artis were eventually overturned in 1985 after years of appeals and public scrutiny regarding the fairness of their trial. The case against them was fraught with inconsistencies and allegations of racial motivation, which ultimately led to their exoneration. The release of Carter and Artis left the murders of James Oliver, Fred Nauyoks, and Hazel Tanis officially unresolved, with no other suspects ever being convicted for the crime.
