Case Profiles #82
Vernon Lomba Jr.
It was early on the morning of January 21st, 1984, when Donna Priestly received a knock on her door at roughly 9:30 a.m. She opened it to discover a police officer, who told her the most devastating news. Donna’s 19-year-old son, Vernon Lomba Jr., had been discovered that morning laying in a snowbank about five feet from the road on Elmwood Avenue in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was dead, apparently hit by a car, as a metal antennae was found near his body. Donna, naturally, had an adverse reaction to this news and had to lay down to prevent herself from passing out, and the news was passed on to Vernon’s two younger sisters. One of them, Vonda, was supposed to meet her brother the night before at one of his favorite local spots, the Sunburst Lounge, also located on Elmwood Avenue, but she had to stay home due to blizzard conditions outside. An autopsy was performed on Vernon and it was discovered that he had not been hit by a car like previously thought; he had been severely beaten. Vernon was hit several times and it appears that when he was hit in the head and jaw, a blood clot formed and broke off and killed him. Police believe they have an intentional murder on their hands and they began to interview people at the bar the same night Vernon died. No one came forward with any information. It was speculated that there was a fight at the bar that night, however there was never any confirmation of who was involved. The fight was either over a girl or a spilled drink, and some even speculate it was about race. Regardless, despite the passage of over four decades, there has been no one charged with Vernon’s murder. Anyone with any information on the murder of Vernon Lomba Jr. is asked to please call Cranston police at 401-942-2211 or submit an anonymous tip.
Hai Bo Lei
On March 30th, 1995, at 9:00 a.m., a man was walking along the road searching for a hubcap that came off his mother-in-law’s car when he came across the body of an Asian man. 26-year-old Hai Bo Lei was found dumped on the side of Hampstead Road in Salem, New Hampshire between Town Farm Road and Meadow Lane. At the time, this was one of Salem’s quieter areas and there weren’t any houses across the street from where the body had been found. Neighbors reported hearing what sounded like a car backfiring at 4:45 a.m., but this was later revealed to be gunshots. Hai Bo, who also went by Paul, was from Boston’s Chinatown area. He had been shot multiple times and had been bound and strangled as well. His throat was also slit. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella described the murder as "an execution-style killing marked by both brutality and precision." He had multiple abrasions and it was clear he had been strangled, but his cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds as well as strangulation.
In the days after Paul’s body was found, fingerprints that were on file with the Massachusetts State Police were used to identify him and tie him to the Boston area. Paul had fingerprints on file with State Police because he had a criminal record due to Vietnamese and Chinese gang activity in Boston’s Chinatown. It’s speculated that he was involved with illegal gambling. Residents of Chinatown are known for keeping to themselves and keeping police out of their business, so police’s questions about the specifics on Paul’s involvement with gangs and gang activity have mostly gone unanswered. Ligatures and bullet shell casings were found at the scene, indicating that Paul was murdered at that location rather than having been murdered at one location and then dumped on the side of the road. Police also said that the way the murder was carried out was clear that it was “by one or more people who knew what they were doing.” During the initial investigation, authorities strongly felt that people were withholding information out of fear of retaliation or fear of implicating themselves with gang activity. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella stated, “To those individuals: we are asking you to come forward now—anonymously, if necessary. We believe there are still people out there who know what happened to Paul, or who heard something in the aftermath that could help. If you were part of Paul’s world, knew him casually, or simply heard something—no matter how minor it seemed—your voice matters. The passage of time does not erase the need for justice. Even the smallest detail could be the key to finally solving this case."
Anyone with any information on the murder of Hai Bo Lei is asked to please call the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit tip line at 1-800-525-5555 or by email at coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously.
Image sources:
savagewatch.com - “Was it a Robbery Gone Bad? Or Something More Sinister?”
doj.nh.gov - “Hai Bo (Paul) Lei”