PORTLAND, Maine — On the seventh anniversary of the shooting of Darien Richardson and Cory Girard, Portland police are seeking information from the public to help solve the case.
The couple were shot while sleeping in Darien’s apartment at 25 Rackleff St., which she shared with two other roommates.
On Jan. 8, 2010, at 1:30 a.m., a masked intruder entered their bedroom and began shooting at them. Darien was shot in the hand and upper thigh. Girard was shot in the arm. Darien died on Feb. 28, 2010, from a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot, a result of the injury to her thigh. The shooting remains unsolved.
Darien’s family continues to seek justice for their daughter’s death. They have offered a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for her death.
Cory Girard was dealing counterfeit OxyContin between New York and Maine. It is believed this shooting is related to the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs, specifically OxyContin.
Girard was a daily user of marijuana and owned a handgun at the time of this incident. This led to him being indicted on gun charges by a federal grand jury in November 2014. On Oct. 1, 2015, he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of controlled substances. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in January 2016.
The handgun used in the Darien shooting was also used in a homicide that occurred on Feb. 11, 2010, at 218 Park Ave. In that case, Serge Mulongo was shot and killed by Daudoit Butsitsi. Police do not believe that Butsitsi was involved in the Rackleff Street shooting. Police believe he purchased the weapon after that shooting, possibly from the person that shot Darien.
Anyone with information that would help solve the crime is asked to contact the Portland Police Department at 874-8575.