Case Profiles #68
If anyone has a photo of Santino, please email us at truecrimene@gmail.com
Santino Kuang
Santino Kuang was born in the southern state of Sudan, which was plagued with a devastating war and genocide at the time of his birth. He, his parents, and several siblings eventually sought refuge in northern Sudan, where Santino was able to live a somewhat normal life with less danger surrounding him than before. Santino was a great student and was known to be academically successful with ambitions of helping out his war-torn country. In school, he also excelled in soccer, earning countless medals and leading his team to championships over and over again. After high school, he returned to his hometown to financially support his parents, getting a job at the State Ministry of Information, and eventually joining the State police department. In 2001, Santino and his family moved to Cairo, Egypt as the civil war in Sudan continued on, and eventually he was granted refugee status by the United Nations. In 2006, Santino came to the Springfield, Massachusetts area under the sponsorship of an organization known as Jewish Family Services, which found him a living situation and even education. Santino had begun to take English classes and even got a job at the Simmons Bedding Company, where he was known to be a hard worker and a nice presence. Unfortunately, on September 23rd, 2008, Santino’s body was discovered in a wooded area off of Armory Street in Springfield. He had been stabbed several times. Police theorized that he had been stabbed during a robbery gone wrong and asked for help from the community. To this day, there have been no arrests or even solid suspects in Santino’s murder. Anyone with any information about Kuang's murder should please call the Springfield Police Department at (413) 787-6355.
Crystal Perry
43-year-old Crystal Perry was born and raised in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, a beautiful coastal town in Cape Cod. Crystal was Native American, and this was incredibly important to her as she was a Woman Warrior of the Wampanoag Tribe. Crystal loved nature, especially horses, and her horses were her pride and joy. She competed in riding competitions and loved to give lessons, and Crystal especially enjoyed giving riding lessons to children and adults with disabilities. She adored her family and her nieces loved when she taught them traditional beadwork. Her happy place was the Perry family farm. Crystal also attended Salter Nursing School, and she used this knowledge to care for the people and elders in her tribe. Her niece, Ariel Price-Perry, stated "She had that matriarch quality. She was a mother, a grandmother. She was an aunt. A sister. She loved to take care of hers for sure." Crystal struggled with addiction, but she was doing well after going to rehab.
On June 11th, 2013, Ariel was watching Crystal cook food for a spirit fire that was being held for a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe who had recently passed away. A man named Darryl Green was also there, as well as 24-year-old Kristofer Williams, who Ariel said Crystal had been seeing at the time. Kristofer had also been struggling with addiction and had met Crystal in rehab. He had a young daughter with a longtime girlfriend and he was a huge sports fan. He had an arrest record for theft due to his addiction, but he was overall kind and a good kid. At this time, Kristofer was sick on the couch with flu symptoms. The afternoon turned to evening and Ariel went back to her house that was adjacent to Crystal’s. It began to rain, and as the night went on Darryl Green started pounding on Ariel’s door. When Ariel opened the door, she heard her mother and Crystal’s sister Veronica Perry screaming. Ariel ran into Crystal’s house and found an unimaginably horrific scene. Crystal and Kristofer were both covered in blood, having been stabbed multiple times. Kristofer was still on the couch, and Ariel said that Crystal was unrecognizable. Ariel stated “As I'm trying to help her, I'm slipping in her blood. I'm throwing up, crying, gagging. I'm trying to call 911. My mind was everywhere. Nowhere could I imagine that someone I love, someone who has taken care of me my entire life, could be murdered." Crystal and Kristofer had been found at around 1:30 a.m., and both had been beaten and stabbed multiple times. There have been no suspects identified and no further leads, but police feel that the murders were intentional and Crystal and Kristofer were targeted. No money or other belongings had been stolen from the house, or so police thought. Several years later in 2016, Darryl Green was convicted of stealing money from the crime scene before anyone knew about the murders. He stole blood covered money and then told police that he was looking for drugs.
Jayden Henderson of the Mashpee tribe's Victims of Crime office and a member of the Tuscarora Nation stated "The murder rate for Indigenous people is ten times higher than the average rate, and murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women.” Crystal’s family, especially her beloved niece Ariel, have done a wonderful job at honoring Crystal and keeping her name out there so her case is not forgotten. Ariel has spoken about Crystal at Indigenous events such as “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People” events across New England. Ariel stated “We've carried it for so long. It's taken a toll. I can't even explain how badly we need closure." Anyone with any information on the murder of Crystal Perry as well as the murder of Kristofer Williams is asked to please call the Falmouth Police Department at 774-255-4527 or Massachusetts State Police at 1-800-344-2722.
Image sources:
capecodtimes.com - “‘It still feels fresh for us.’ Crystal Perry’s unsolved killing disturbs Mashpee family”