On New Year's Day in 1995, the city of Roanoke, Virginia, was shaken by a brutal act of violence that claimed the life of 44-year-old Susan Lynne Hutchinson and four others. Hutchinson, a female resident of a second-floor apartment on 41/2 Street Southwest, was celebrating the new year with friends when the gathering turned tragic. She and her roommate, Dale J.
Arnold, 36, were gunned down in their home in what was described as a senseless rampage.
The violence of that day also took the lives of Cynthia Ann LaPrade, 43, Carl 'Lee' Stroop, 42, and Daniel Barry Mason, 58. The five victims were part of a New Year's celebration that spanned across apartments in the Old Southwest Roanoke neighborhood. Neighbors and family were left in a state of shock and grief as details of the horrific event emerged. The community, unaccustomed to such violence, struggled to comprehend the loss of five lives in a single incident.
In the aftermath of the killings, law enforcement quickly identified a suspect. Robert Michael May, who was 27 at the time and lived next door to Hutchinson and Arnold, was arrested and subsequently confessed to the murders, according to police. A grand jury in Roanoke Circuit Court indicted May on multiple charges, including capital murder for the death of Susan Lynne Hutchinson, as well as four counts of first-degree murder for the other victims. The investigation revealed that May had been at a New Year's party and had retrieved a. 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol before the shootings occurred.
Susan Lynne Hutchinson was remembered as a mother, daughter, and sister. She had been living with Arnold for two years, and both were receiving Social Security income for disabilities. Her death, along with the others, left a lasting scar on the Roanoke community and served as a grim reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence. The legal proceedings against Robert Michael May were closely followed as the city sought justice for the five lives tragically cut short on that New Year's Day.
