These 40 Boston homicides haven’t been solved in 50 years

Boston police recently created an online dashboard of unsolved homicides dating back to 1963, compiling decades of cases into one place — including dozens that have gone unsolved for 50 years.

“We certainly want the loved ones of these victims to know that we remember them, but this is not a memorial, it is seeking information. These are cases that we need assistance solving,” said Sgt. Det. Nick Moore, a member of the department’s homicide unit, helped work on the site.

“Everyone listed on these unsolved pages had a life that existed before this trauma happened to them. They have loved ones who want to know what happened to them,” Moore said.

Listed by year on the Homicide Unit section on police.boston.gov, the dashboard was compiled from existing department records.

It includes recent victims like 18-year-old Leroy Ryner and 20-year-old Kareem Daveiga-Booth, killed nine days apart in January, and stretches back to James Smith, 32, shot in 1963 — the first case listed on the page.

Each entry includes the victim’s name, age, date, location and cause of death, confirmed as homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

It’s a step in transparency long-awaited by advocates.

“We are glad to see it happening … it’s really long overdue,” said Clementina Chéry, president of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

Chéry lost her own son, Louis D. Brown, to gun violence three decades ago and has since made it her mission to support other survivors. This spring, the Peace Institute co-authored a report with Northeastern University calling for such a tool to improve public awareness and survivor outreach.

Among the listed Boston cases are 40 people who were killed in 1975 — none of their cases solved, their loved ones left to carry not only the weight of grief but also heavy, unanswered questions.

Here are the names of Boston’s homicide victims whose cases have gone unsolved for 50 years. All individuals’ deaths have been determined homicides by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Edward J. Belmonte

• Date of incident: January 23, 1975
• Location of incident: Parking 28 to 52 Northern Ave. in Boston
• Cause/manner/manner of death: Shooting

Arthur Coyne

• Date of incident: January 31, 1975
• Location of incident: Stage Deli at 130 Boylston St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Homicide

Thomas Murphy

• Date of incident: February 3, 1975
• Location of incident: Gulf gas station at 1563 Blue Hill Ave. in Mattapan
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Elmer Menard

• Date of incident: February 8, 1975
• Location of incident: 58 Devonshire St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Charles James

• Date of incident: February 8, 1975
• Location of incident: 16 East Brookline St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Trauma, homicide

Leonard D. Bonds

• Date of incident: February 17, 1975
• Location of incident: Terrace and Tremont streets in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

David W. Coulter

• Date of incident: February 22, 1975
• Location of incident: 102 Revere St., Apt. #2 in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Homicide

Thomas Person

• Date of incident: March 1, 1975
• Location of incident: 80 Stratton St. in Dorchester
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

James L. Jones

• Date of incident: March 4, 1975
• Location of incident: In a field off Sarsfield Street, about 150 feet from Columbus Avenue
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Henry Kimble

• Date of incident: March 7, 1975
• Location of incident: Navarre and American Legion Highway
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Mark M. Shamon

• Date of incident: March 11, 1975
• Location of incident: In front of building at 204 W. 9th St. in South Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Debbie Ann Counts

• Date of incident: March 20, 1975
• Location of incident: In field across from 65-85 Allerton St. in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Assault/homicide

Fletch Kelsey

• Date of incident: March 29, 1975
• Location of incident: In hallway of 10 Bickford St. in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Juan Claudio AKA Claudio P. Cruz

• Date of incident: March 30, 1975
• Location of incident: Fayette & Charles St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Lawrence Russo

• Date of incident: March 31, 1975
• Location of incident: First floor apartment at 59 S. Huntington Ave. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Trauma/homicide

John F. Kenner

• Date of incident: April 21, 1975
• Location of incident: On sidewalk outside 2850 Washington St. in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Jean E. Doherty

• Date of incident: May 17, 1975
• Location of incident: Railroad tracks near near of Chapel 65 Northern Ave. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Trauma/homicide

Ralph Colarusso

• Date of incident: May 22, 1975
• Location of incident: Mobile gas station at 588 Commercial St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Joseph T. Conley

• Date of incident: June 9, 1975
• Location of incident: 219 Bunker Hill Street, Charlestown — A.V.F.W. Post
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Harriet Vincent

• Date of incident: June 11, 1975
• Location of incident: Basement room of 6 Hestia Rd. in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Homicide

Richard F. Day

• Date of incident: June 27, 1975
• Location of incident: Backyard of 174 Brooks St. in East Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Ulisis Santiago

• Date of incident: July 3, 1975
• Location of incident: 9 Cortez St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

James L. Gorman Jr.

• Date of incident: July 13, 1975
• Location of incident: Roadway in front of 7 Melrose St.
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Diane Bryant

• Date of incident: July 22, 1975
• Location of incident: 129 Marlboro St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: A fire broke out in the building and Bryant fell five floors as a result of the collapse of a fire escape, as she waited to be rescued.

Radames Robles

• Date of incident: July 26, 1975
• Location of incident: Dudley and Adams Streets
• Cause/manner of death: Trauma/homicide

Edward Hall

• Date of incident: August 2, 1975
• Location of incident: Sidewalk on Washington Street at West Newton Street
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Ruth B. Pearson

• Date of incident: August 23, 1975
• Location of incident: Middle of the field at Madison Park in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

William Christopher Livingstone

• Date of incident: August 29, 1975
• Location of incident: Street of 145 Tremont St. in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Clarence Johnson

• Date of incident: September 1, 1975
• Location of incident: 57 Rutland St., Apt. #3 in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Florencia Maldonado

• Date of incident: September 6, 1975
• Location of incident: Opposite 57 Pembroke St. in South End
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Robert Earl Rogers

• Date of incident: September 8, 1975
• Location of incident: In the parking lot of 150 Monticello Ave. in Boston, behind the boiler room
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Joseph V. Wholey

• Date of incident: September 20, 1975
• Location of incident: 35 Anderson St., Apt. #3 in Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Louis P. Viecelli

• Date of incident: October 12, 1975
• Location of incident: Schoolyard of Tileston School on Babson Street in Mattapan
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Louis Delsesto

• Date of incident: October 20, 1975
• Location of incident: Beatrice-Marie Nursing Home at 337 Neponset Ave. in Dorchester
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Francis X. Leonard (a.k.a. Leonard, Buddy)

• Date of incident: November 6, 1975
• Location of incident: 25 Pilsudski Way in South Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Benigno Aletandre

• Date of incident: November 9, 1975
• Location of incident: Doorway of 2 Dudley St. in Roxbury
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

James Shields

• Date of incident: November 18, 1975
• Location of incident: 10 Brandon Ave., Apt. 861 in Columbia Point
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting

Thomas M. Strange

• Date of incident: November 20, 1975
• Location of incident: 16 Wendeller St. in South Boston
• Cause/manner of death: Homicide

Walter L. Rainey

• Date of incident: November 24, 1975
• Location of incident: 29 Rich St. in Mattapan
• Cause/manner of death: Stabbing

Charles L. Veno

• Date of incident: December 3, 1975
• Location of incident: Ashmont Creamery at 1865 Dorchester Ave.
• Cause/manner of death: Shooting