| Quaaneiruh Goodwyn’s murder has remained unsolved for 3 years, 0 months, and 27 days. |
On the evening of October 16, 2022, 24-year-old Quaaneiruh Goodwyn was spending time with friends outside a Dorchester, Massachusetts (MA) convenience store when gunshots suddenly rang out around 8:50 PM. Three people were struck in the shooting, but only Goodwyn lost her life, pronounced dead at the scene. The young mother, who had given birth to her son just five months earlier, was described by family and friends as a vibrant, entrepreneurial woman with dreams of a music career and a bright future ahead of her.
Despite surveillance footage capturing the moments before the shooting and the presence of multiple witnesses, Boston Police have released minimal information about the case, citing only a red SUV with non-working taillights as a potential lead. Several years later, Goodwyn’s murder remains unsolved, leaving her family desperate for answers and justice. Who murdered Quaaneiruh Goodwyn?
About Quaaneiruh Goodwyn
Quaaneiruh Goodwyn was born to parents Deniquaa Ellison and Russell Goodwyn on April 27, 1998 in Boston, MA. She also had a brother, Njaavel Ellison.
As a child, Goodwyn was said to have always had on a smile or silly face, and she loved gymnastics and playing with her cousins. She was also especially close to her great grandmother, Rose, who gave her the nickname “Button.”
Mother Deniquaa Ellison said of her late daughter, “She was my best friend. We [told] each other everything. That’s my only girl.” Russell Goodwyn, her father, said in an interview:
“She’s very innovative. She was a light to the world—full of energy. Nothing but vibes… If you were going through a down time, she would definitely make you smile.”
Russell Goodwyn (Source: NBC10 Boston)
Passionate and Entrepreneurial
Goodwyn graduated Newton South High School in 2016, loved her friends, and had a passion for music. At one point, she enrolled in South New Hampshire University before deciding that she wanted to pursue a career in music, and she had a SoundCloud under the name TrueQQ (with QQ being one of her nicknames(.
In addition to her music career, Goodwyn was also entrepreneurial, establishing her own line of casual clothing called Oaziz (although her online store no longer exists).
Friends described Goodwyn as a loving, fun person. One close friend, Keem LeAmour, told NBC10 Boston, “She was just fun. She enjoyed herself and she kept the people that she loved closest to her.” Another friend, Tianna Tomlinson, said of Goodwyn, “She walks around giving out love. That’s who she is—that’s who she was.”
Goodwyn Becomes a Mother
In 2022, Goodwyn gave birth to her son, Kingston, and was engaged to her fiancé, Kalvin Richards. Her family says that she was a doting, attentive mother who wanted to cherish and protect her son: “She covered her son with all the love and care she had. It was a rare occasion to see her without baby Kingston.” Richards told Yahoo!News, “She had so many dreams, so many things she wanted to accomplish. Every day was just a new adventure.” And in the words of Goodwyn herself:
“I refuse to leave this earth without leaving my mark and show what I represent myself for. The real side of me is what others around the world don’t live and I would be more than honored to be the one to have something to show for it.”
Quaaneiruh Goodwyn (Source: YouTube)
All in all, Goodwyn was a motivated, driven, and passionate young woman with her entire life ahead of her. However, her zest for life, passion for music, and love for her friends and family would be unfairly snuffed out in October 2022.
The Night of the Shooting
On October 16, 2022, Quaaneirah Goodwyn was 24 years old. She’d given birth to her son about five months earlier, and that night, she wanted to hang out with some of her friends.
Goodwyn and her friends were outside a Dorchester convenience store located at the intersection of Bowdoin Street and Geneva Avenue. While her friends were filming a video, Goodwyn was only there to hang out and support them rather than directly being involved in the filming process (although some news outlets report that she was also involved with the filming).
But everything was about to change.
Around 8:50 PM, shots rang out. A witness who later spoke to news outlets said that he’d heard six shots. Three people were struck: two men and Goodwyn. One of the men was in stable condition while the other had life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition. Goodwyn, however, didn’t survive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Family and Friends Notified
Goodwyn’s father, Russell Goodwyn, said in an interview that he had been working on some music pieces of his own that night. He told NBC10 Boston about what happened when he got the call that his daughter had been shot:
“The shock was just like, I don’t think it’s her… I rushed out the door, and before I can get anywhere close… to the hospital or the scene, my aunt called me and told me that she was not longer here. I think after that point, my world came crashing down.”
Russell Goodwyn (Source: NBC10 Boston)
Other friends of Quaanieruh Goodwyn expressed disbelief, sadness, and anger. “I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m devastated,” said Tianna Tomlinson, one of Goodwyn’s friends. “She would light up any room that she would walk into,” she continued, expressing disbelief that Goodwyn’s life had been taken.
“It’s senseless,” said another. “I’m shocked. Everybody was shocked… Quaaneiruh’s the puzzle piece that isn’t supposed to be missing.”
Mayor Makes a Statement
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu visited the site of the shooting that night and made a public statement addressing the violence:
“This is a devastating end to the weekend here. Our Boston police are here day in and day out, 24 hours a day. This is a part of the city that has strong community organizations, strong community partnerships, and we ask for the public’s help in reporting any information that might be available so there can be swift accountability and justice in this case, as well.”
Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston (Source: MassLive)
The Investigation
Boston Police Department (BPD) officers and investigators arrived on the scene quickly, taping off the area in the search for clues. However, the findings appear to be limited, with the only publicly released lead being a request for information about a red SUV with non-working taillights.
Surveillance Video Captured the Crime
There was a surveillance video that was rolling during the shooting, and the footage showed six people standing, talking, and/or dancing outside of the store. The camera didn’t record audio, but out of nowhere, the group scattered, running in all different directions. One person fell to the ground and had to crawl near a car for cover.
However, despite the fact that there was a camera rolling, it doesn’t seem to have captured the suspect(s)—or if it did, BPD is not releasing that footage at this time.
Death Ruled a Homicide
Goodwyn’s death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In this context, “homicide” means the death was caused by another person’s actions. It’s important to note that this classification doesn’t automatically imply a crime (though in this case, it almost certainly does). Instead, it serves as a medical and legal term used by coroners and medical examiners to indicate how the death occurred.
No Motives Released Publicly
The Boston Police Department (BPD) and Suffolk District Attorney’s Office have not released any potential motives for the shooting and murder, and the consensus seems to be that Goodwyn was the target of a random attack.
Not the First Time
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Russell Goodwyn has lost a child. In 2017, his stepson, Antwan Stevenson, was also gunned down—shot and killed in Mattapan, MA. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and the medical examiner later determined that the manner of death was homicide. Stevenson’s case also remains unsolved.
Worse yet, Goodwyn’s family has reportedly received few (if any) updates on either case:
“I can honestly say that I don’t get no answers from Boston Police. I haven’t gotten no answers. I’ve constantly called—and not to mention the same detectives have both of my kids’ cases. So I haven’t got a call, I haven’t got no updates.”
Russell Goodwyn (Source: NBC10 Boston)
Very Little Information Available
Unfortunately, that’s about all the information that’s publicly available regarding the shooting and murder of Goodwyn, and her family is still waiting for answers—and justice. Her father, Russell Goodwyn, told a reporter for NBC10 Boston, “[Life] can go from happy and joy and laughter to just complete grief, anger, and confusion… The pain is still the same.”
Theories on the Murder of Quaaneiruh Goodwyn
In this case, there really are only two viable theories: the shooting was either random or it wasn’t. It may seem like that might make it easier to solve, but random acts of violence can be some of the most difficult crimes for law enforcement to solve due to the lack of connections between victims and perpetrators.
The Shooting was Targeted
Although this shooting may at first seem gang- or drug-related, there is little to no evidence to support the theory that it was a targeted attack. From my research, Goodwyn didn’t have any sort of a criminal record.
Additionally, Goodwyn’s friends say that she wasn’t involved in anything gang or drug-related. “I don’t recall her having any problems with anybody or ever hearing a bad word about her come out of anyone’s mouth,” longtime friend Cecelia Spangenberg told The Boston Globe. I spoke to another one of Goodwyn’s friends who told me that Goodwyn wasn’t involved in anything that might’ve made her a target: “She wasn’t involved with the gangs or drugs. She was [trying to prioritize] becoming a new mother.”
The Shooting was Random
The other theory is that Goodwyn and the other two men who were injured in the shooting were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time—that is, it was a random shooting—and many of family members agree.
“The fact that knowing that whoever did this is still out there and we still don’t have no answers as a family… Boston has brought too many bad memories for me and my family,” Quaanieruh Goodwyn’s father, Russell Goodywn, said in sit-down interview.
Goodwyn’s friends also think she was the victim of a random shooting. “This to me seemed like a random act,” one of Goodwyn’s friends told me via email. “I think she was just at the wrong place and had no idea.”
A Spotlight on Boston’s Gun Violence
Many in the community point to Goodwyn’s murder (and other shootings like it) as evidence of a gun violence epidemic ravaging the streets of Boston.
A month or so before Goodwyn’s murder, two people were shot dead and one was injured in another shooting in Dorchester on September 4, 2022. On October 10, 2022—only a few days before the shooting that killed Goodwyn—a 14-year-old was shot and killed, and another teenage boy was shot but survived. The Boston Public School District released a statement about the gun violence that killed one of their students and injured another:
“We are deeply saddened about the loss of one of our students, who was a victim of a senseless act of gun violence over the weekend. We must collectively come together as a community to end gun violence so that no parent, teacher, classmate, or anyone experiences the preventable loss of our youth.”
Boston Public School District (Source: MassLive)
And it’s not just a shooting here or there. According to a report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the leading cause of death for youth ages 1-17 was firearms in 2022. Furthermore, youths of color are at much greater risk than white children, with Black youths having a gun death rate approximately six times that of white youths.
Public Concerns Rise
In the wake of so many shootings, many people expressed concerns about the safety of themselves and their families, calling on city leadership and authorities to do more.
“Kids carrying guns out on the street and not being parented properly, [the gun violence is] out of control,” one man told NBC10 Boston. “There’s too many kids getting killed around here,” a local woman added, explaining that her own son had been killed by gun violence several years prior. “Hopefully, this violence ends,” chimed in another.
When it comes to Goodwyn’s murder, her family has spoken out as well. “For someone to come and spray bullets… It’s not just her. There are so many others,” mother Deniquaa Ellison said. “It shouldn’t be that way. To go to the grocery store, to go to the park, we shouldn’t have to worry about our safety.”
During an interview with NBC10 Boston, father Russell Goodwyn explained his thoughts: “It was senseless, what happened to [Quaaneiruh]. She was just going to meet up with friends.” Worse yet, there have been few, if any answers for her grieving family and loved ones:
Does Race Play a Role?
Others point to the idea that race might play a role. One of Goodwyn’s friends who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity alluded to the fact that law enforcement has not been forthcoming with information in Goodwyn’s murder. This friend told me that the law enforcement officers assigned to her friend’s murder have not been transparent or forthcoming with whatever information they know, and the BPD has a low clearance rate for solving murders involving people of color.
While I could not verify whether murder clearance rates differ by race, the data clearly shows that Black or African American people are disproportionately represented among homicide victims in Boston. In 2022, Black or African American people made up 45.8 percent of murder victims despite being only 20.3 percent of the population (based on 2022 statistics). By contrast, white, non-Hispanic people made up 44.5 percent of the population and made up only 5.6 percent of homicide victims.
Goodwyn’s Case Remains Unsolved
Russell Goodwyn, Quaaneiruh Goodwyn’s father, expressed some of his concerns about these unsolved shootings in a sit-down interview, stating:
“The scary thing about Boston is [that] the streets will take care of its own problem… and I don’t want that. I don’t want any other parent to have to go through this type of pain that I’ve went through.”
Russell Goodwyn (Source: NBC10 Boston)
Kalvin Richards, Goodwyn’s fiancé, put it more bluntly: “What took place is that she was unjustly murdered. No information has been given. No one has said anything. There have been whispers.” Whispers, yes, but still no answers.
Officials Respond
In the wake of the public concern and outcry, several of Boston’s officials responded. Suffolk County Interim District Attorney Kevin Hayden addressed some of the concerns in a statement:
“The shooting earlier this morning in Dorchester is yet another deadly reminder of the perils to our neighborhoods when too many guns are in the hands of too many people willing g to pull the trigger anywhere and anytime. Boston Police and my office are doing everything possible to address gun violence but, as I’ve said again and again, the approach must include all of society.”
Kevin Hayden, Suffolk County Interim District Attorney (Source: MassLive)
BPD Commissioner Michael Cox also stated: “[Gun violence] is something we’re certainly looking to address as we partner again with the community to make sure we are informed when these things happen.”
Some Hope and Change
In 2023, the City of Boston joined a new program called the Violence Reduction Center (VRC). Through targeted workshops, the VRC convenes experts, stakeholders, and local leaders to create actionable plans for reducing youth access to illegal firearms. The program seems to have had at least some impact, as 2024 recorded the lowest number of homicides in Boston since 1957.
Mayor Michelle Wu gave a press conference in late December 2024, stating:
“We know that there’s more work to do, so today is not a victory lap, but a report out and a reflection of the type of results we see when we all understand community safety to be a collective responsibility that we share and that everyone has a part in.”
Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston (Source: Boston.com)
What Do I Think Happened?
From the research and interviews I conducted, it seems to me that Goodwyn’s murder was probably a random shooting. I couldn’t find any information anywhere about her having any sort of problem with anyone, less yet being involved in any sort of criminal scene or one involving drugs or gangs. By all accounts, she was a passionate, beautiful, and entrepreneurial mother with her whole life ahead of her—making this situation all the more tragic.
Random Crimes are Tough to Solve
While a random shooting might seem almost hopeful on the surface (in that Goodwyn wasn’t specifically targeted), it also makes the crime much more difficult to solve. Crimes are much more easily solved when there is an obvious connection or motive between the victim and perpetrator(s).
All the same, that’s no reason to give up hope that this crime can one day be solved. “We should fight for her. She would fight, put herself on the line for others,” Goodwyn’s mother, Deniquaa Ellison, has stated.
More Tips and Information Needed
In order for Goodwyn and her loved ones to get the justice the deserve, someone has to come forward. Someone out there knows something, and even if you don’t think that your tip means much, it could be key to cracking the case. She and her family need answers.
If I were an investigator assigned to this case, I would look more deeply into the two young men who were also shot—not because they might’ve been responsible, but perhaps one of them has some reason or knowledge why the friend group might’ve been targeted in the first place. I find it hard to believe this was a totally and completely random shooting, as people often have some reason or motivation for criminal acts like this.
Heartbroken Loved Ones Left Behind Need Justice
In the meantime, Goodwyn’s loved ones are left waiting for answers that may never come. “I’m heartbroken because I’ll never meet someone like Quaaneiruh again,” friend Alyssia Davis told the Boston Globe. “She was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Another one of her Goodwyn’s friends told me, “I just want her son to have some reassurance when he’s older to know [that] someone was fighting for her still.”
And Goodwyn’s family and loved ones are trying to keep the hope alive of one day solving her case. “‘What happened to my mom? Where is she?'” Kalvin Richards, Goodwyn’s fiancé asked Yahoo!News in a heartbreaking comment regarding the son he and the young mother shared. “Imagine me having to answer that when the time comes.”
“She was my heart. She was my heart,” father Russell Goodwyn told NBC10 Boston, his voice choked with emotion, “And I just felt like my heart was taken away from me.”
Case Updates
Unfortunately, there have not been many updates in the case of the murder of Quaaneiruh Goodwyn.
November 2022: Ever Loved Fundraiser Established
There is an Ever Loved fundraiser with proceeds going toward help for Goodwyn’s son that is still active. However, it is still far short of its $25,000 goal as of May 2025.
Do You Have Information?
Do you have any information about the murder of Quaaneirah Goodwyn? The shooting took place on October 12, 2022 at 8:51 PM outside of the Star 50 convenience store in Dorchester, MA. If you have any information or tips, contact the Boston Police Crimestoppers at Boston Police Crimestoppers at (800) 494-8477 or the Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
Cold Case Questions
- Do you think Quaaneirah Goodwyn’s murder was a random shooting, or was there something more to it?
- Will this case be solved?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below! I value each and every contribution to our community of Cold Case Explorers. As a reminder, be kind and respectful in the comment section. A supportive and positive environment helps us all think more clearly and discuss these cases more effectively. Let’s keep our discussions constructive, compassionate, and considerate!
Thanks for Reading!
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to explore this cold case with me! My commitment to bringing you FREE, well-researched, and comprehensive articles means I spend considerable time and effort digging into each case without compensation.
Want to Support Me?
Help me keep the dwindling embers of cold cases alive! The simplest FREE way you can support me is by subscribing, sharing, or leaving a comment:
I believe in keeping my content accessible to everyone, without paywalls, because I know the work I do matters. For that reason, I’m beyond grateful for any financial support! If you’d like to support me and my work, check out my art website at AriesArtwork.com to bring home something unique or find a gift for that special someone in your life:
Otherwise, I’ll see you on the trail of our next unsolved mystery. Until then, stay safe, Cold Case Explorers!
—Skylar Aries