A New Year's celebration in Roanoke, Virginia, turned into a scene of carnage in the early hours of January 1, 1995, leaving five people dead, including 36-year-old Cynthia Ann 'Cindy' LaPrade. The white female was among the victims of a shooting that shattered the holiday peace and led to the swift arrest of a suspect who lived next door.
The gathering took place in a small carriage house apartment where Dale Jay Arnold, 36, and Susan Lynne Hutchinson, 44, resided.
Friends had come together to ring in the new year, among them Cynthia LaPrade, Carl Leonard 'Lee' Stroop, 42, and Daniel Barry Mason, 58. The festive atmosphere soured, leading to a violent altercation that ended with all five partygoers being fatally shot. Cynthia LaPrade died from a gunshot wound to her head.
The suspect, 27-year-old Robert Michael May, was taken into custody by the afternoon of New Year's Day. Police found a stolen. 40-caliber revolver, believed to be the murder weapon, on the roof of a nearby building where May lived. In the wake of the killings, reports emerged that May had confessed to the shootings.
May was subsequently indicted by a grand jury and faced a charge of capital murder, along with four other counts of first-degree murder. During the legal proceedings, it was revealed that May had offered conflicting accounts of the events. He claimed to have acted in self-defense against the men at the party, but expressed some remorse for the deaths of the two women. In a letter written after his sentencing, May even stated that he had wanted to receive the death penalty. He ultimately pleaded 'no contest' to the charges.
In August 1995, a Roanoke Circuit Court judge convicted Robert Michael May of the murders. He was sentenced to five life sentences plus an additional 28 years in prison for his role in the New Year's Day massacre. The tragic event left the community in shock and the victims' families grappling with the senseless loss of their loved ones.
