Case Profiles #83
Grisel Sanchez
On July 28th, 2015, at 10:30 p.m., 31-year-old Grisel Sanchez was walking through Puddingstone Park in Dorchester, Massachusetts with two other women who were her neighbors. The two women had stopped by on a walk to a nearby corner store just a few blocks away and had asked if Grisel wanted to join them. Taking the opportunity to go on a walk after the heat of the July day had cooled off and to grab a pack of cigarettes, Grisel agreed. As the three women walked through Puddingstone Park to the corner store, gunshots rang out across the park. Amongst all of the chaos, it was quickly realized that Grisel had been shot. The other two women were unharmed. Grisel devastatingly died of her injuries. Police feel that the shooting was unrelated and completely unintended for Grisel or the other women. They think that Grisel was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and was caught in the crossfire of the shooting. Grisel, who was lovingly called “Chichi” by her family, was a mother of three children. She was one of three children herself, nestled between her two sisters Angelica, the oldest, and Marlene, the youngest, as the middle child.
In addition to raising her three children, two boys and a girl, she also cared for her grandmother full time. Her grandmother had dementia, and Grisel loved taking her out to the park or family events like cookouts. As her grandmother had dementia, her family was never able to tell her about Grisel’s murder. They were advised medically that it would be too traumatic and that each time she was told about Grisel’s murder, it would be like she was hearing and experiencing it for the first time. There is little information about anyone who could be responsible for her murder. Anyone with any information about the murder of Grisel Sanchez is asked to please call homicide detectives at 617-343-4470 or anonymously at 1-800-494-TIPS.
Dantley Leonard
On November 12th, 2016, 28-year-old Dantley Leonard was helping a close friend move furniture for another friend and his girlfriend, who were moving into a new apartment in the Franklin Field apartment complex in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Dantley and his friend, Antwuan Mair, were assisting a third friend with backing up a rented moving van into a parking space, when suddenly a light colored, possibly silver sedan pulled up. The passenger side door opened and shots were fired before the car sped off. Antwuan was shot twice in the arm and once in the back while Dantley was shot eleven times. By the time emergency personnel arrived on the scene, Dantley had died from his injuries. There were several witnesses to the scene, but what was most damning was the bullet fragment and shell casings found. These small pieces of evidence turned out to be huge when they linked the gun, a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson, to the crime scene of another murder that happened in the area just two months prior. With witnesses and forensics, on November 14th, 2016, Julian Troche was arrested on a separate matter, but was found to have gun powder residue on his sweatshirt and also turned out to be the best friend of the victim who had died in the shoot out two months earlier. In August of 2019, Julian Troche was found guilty of first-degree murder, amongst other assault and weapon charges, earning himself a life sentence. Unfortunately for Dantley’s family, who may have found some peace with an arrest, Troche filed an appeal in 2023 that showed new evidence. Apparently, there were text messages found from the star witness on the prosecutor’s side in which he admitted that he gave false testimony to try and frame Troche. The verdicts were “set aside” and the judgement was vacated, sending the case to the Superior Court for further review and action. At this time, there is no one being held responsible for Dantley’s murder.
Image sources:
bostonglobe.com - “Dorchester shooting victim, a mother of three, was bystander”
gunmemorial.org - “Dantley ‘Tookie’ Leonard, age 28”