Dark Downeast - The Murder of Darien Richardson Part 2 (Maine)

Episode Date: August 9, 2021

Since that night in January 2010 when a masked intruder fired several rounds into Darien Richardson’s bedroom, Judi Richardson and her family have waited for the call that would bring them closure and justice in Darien’s still unsolved murder.In Part 1, we got to know Darien through the eyes of her mother, and we heard about the painful, emotional road to recovery after suffering two gunshot wounds that was then unexpectedly cut short. Begin listening with Part 1 for the full story.In Part 2, with Darien’s passing, Portland Police had a homicide investigation on their hands. A clue still lodged in Darien’s hip would lead them to the first big break in the case, but a break that would only take them so far when a loophole left the investigation stalled at a frustrating dead end.The family and friends of Darien Richardson are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for her death. Anyone with information regarding Darien Richardson’s murder is asked to contact the Detective Division of the Portland Police Department at [phone] or at www.portland-police.com. View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/darienrichardson2Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-caseDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

I don't think people realize how hard it is to live with that over your, on your mind and in your life constantly. People forget, they just do. Family forgets even, you know. Nobody thinks about it, but it's always on your mind. Is today going to be the day? Is someone going to call me? Is someone going to turn up?

Since that night, in January 2010, when a masked intruder fired several rounds into Darian Richardson's bedroom, Judy Richardson and her family have waited for the call that would bring them closure and justice in Darian's still unsolved murder. In part one of this two-part series, we got to know Darian through the eyes of her mother. And we heard about the painful, emotional road to recovery after suffering two gunshot wounds

that was then unexpectedly cut short. With Darian's passing, Portland police now had a homicide investigation on their hands. And a clue still lodged in Darian's hip would lead them to the first big break in the case. A break that would only take them so far, after a loophole left the investigation stalled at a frustrating dead end. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is part two of Darian Richardson's story, told by her mother Judy Richardson on Dark Down East. Darian Richardson was 25 years old when she passed away from complications relating to her gunshot wounds

from the home invasion and shooting in January 2010. The wound on her hip was a complicated injury from the start. Darian was at risk of bleeding out and had a few scares while still in the hospital. Doctors decided to leave that bullet in her hip and heal the wound from the outside. Ultimately, it caused a pulmonary embolism. The media attention surrounding the death of their daughter only amplified their pain. A young woman with a bright future dies as the result of a shooting in Portland, Maine, and it instantly became A-block headline news. The rumors were the most challenging to cope with. Reporters were all over asking anybody that was connected to anybody on

social media, even including me. And luckily, I didn't see it that day because I just, I didn't even look at that. But, you know, wanting information, wanting to hear this, they would call in the house and it's like, are you kidding? It's like, this is the last thing. So then they don't get us, and they get other people who don't have anything to do with us. And, you know, I think there was one report, this Dr. Pickus, that doesn't even know us or her or anything, and he's like, yeah, yeah, you shouldn't fly because it causes that. And it's like, so now we're starting more rumors about that,

which are still perpetuated today. Oh, that's not a homicide. You know, this is like, you know, she was a healthy 25-year-old girl. She didn't do anything wrong. And it's that people victim, people like to victim blame all the time. With her death, Portland police also heightened their attention on the case. So this home invasion becomes a homicide, and the police go get the bullet. So the medical examiner, she ruled it a homicide actually when she did her report,

but they went and got the bullet and came back. The bullet that the doctors left in Darian's hip would prove to be a key piece of evidence in moving her case forward, though it would take some time for the ballistics testing to make the connection to another shooting, also in Portland, while Darian was still alive. According to reporting by Trevor Maxwell for the Portland Press-Herald,

a man named Dadoyt Butsitsi pulled up and parked his car on Mellon Street near Park Avenue in Portland in the late morning of February 10, 2010. His then-roommate, Serge Malongo, approached the car and through the driver's side window started punching Buzizi. A witness pulled the men apart and asked what the fight was all about. Malango said it was something bad that happened the day before. That evening, the men got into another altercation. It ended when Bucitsi shot and killed Malongo. Investigators compared the shell casings and bullets from both Darian Richardson's shooting death

and the death of Serge Malongo. The ballistics results revealed an important piece of information. They said that the ballistics had confirmed that the same gun was used. The gun that was used in Darien's shooting was used in that Park Avenue shooting. And they probably, I mean, Darien died and had the bullet. They probably, I don't know if they would have connected it otherwise. Police discovered that the gun used by Bucicci to kill Malongo, a.45 caliber semi-automatic pistol,

was the same gun the intruder used to shoot and ultimately kill Darian Richardson. Investigators traced the existing sales records and background check information for that firearm and located its original retail sale. But the trail stopped there. They had told us that they had traced it as far as to the make and manufacture original, and then where it was sold retail, and then the guy that bought it, they've talked to, that was the owner of record that did a background check, was then, he had said he had sold it soon after he bought it, they've talked to, that was the owner of record that did a background check, was then he had said he had sold it soon after he bought it. And he didn't remember who he sold it

to. He didn't do a check. He didn't, he didn't even remember what day he sold it on. So they were basically telling us they were in this big room with the chief and everyone else that we don't know, there's nowhere else to go with that. If they could find out who they got the gun from, they might be able to connect a few pieces, but they were at a standstill. Portland police determined that the murder weapon was initially legally purchased, but then resold to an unknown buyer at a private gun show. In this type of transaction, a background check and other documentation of the buyer is not required. Detectives pressed Buzizzi for information, but he refused to give specifics about where the gun came from.

He would only say that he got it from a friend, private sale, or perhaps just an exchange between two individuals, which meant no background check, no information. Then-assistant police chief Vern Malock told the Portland Press-Herald, quote, We have traced the gun as far as humanly possible, unquote. Butsitsi is currently serving 38 years in prison on murder charges. He has yet to reveal anything about the firearm or otherwise that would end the search for answers in Darian Richardson's murder. Linking the gun from Darian Richardson's murder to the murder of Serge Malongo a month later was the most significant development in the case that first year and a half. As they approached the two-year anniversary of Darian's death, Judy and Wayne were frustrated,

more so they were heartbroken. And yet, they continued on the search for answers for their daughter. The Richardson family announced a reward for information, leading to an arrest in Darian's case in 2012. The funds came from family and friends who said they didn't want people to forget the kind, beautiful, full-of-life woman they loved. Similar to the unsolved cases I've covered before, Darian's family are the ones leading the effort to keep her memory alive and her case active. It shouldn't be the families doing it. That's just way too much. There's no one there for us. There's no one there to help you navigate all this stuff. It shouldn't fall on the families. It's just wrong. It's too much. And it's just sad, and it's overwhelming, and it's consuming. You have to do it because no one else is doing it.

In November 2014, police arrested Darian's former boyfriend, Corey Gerard, on a charge of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of marijuana. As reported by the Portland Press-Herald, the charges covered a span of several months, from October 24, 2009 to January 8, 2010, the night of the shooting. The gun he possessed was not the gun used in the murder. The Richardsons were hopeful that Corey's incarceration might bring out new information, that he might be motivated to speak and share anything he was previously withholding about the intruder or intruders who shot their daughter.

Corey's frustrating because he has not cooperated. And, you know, why isn't he? Technically, Corey's still a victim because, you know, he was there. Well, why isn't he? Why isn't he fighting to get this solved? Why isn't he doing anything? And he's still alive. It's unclear why it took five years for those charges to be brought against Corey,

and if they had any connection to the investigation into Darian's murder. To this day, Corey denies knowing who broke into the apartment that night. The private sale of the firearm that would ultimately become the murder weapon in Darian Richardson's case was obtained by what Portland police referred to as a loophole. In Maine and at the federal level, there is no law requiring a background check on the purchaser of a firearm if the seller is not a licensed dealer. Police Chief Michael Soschuk told David Hench for the Portland Press Herald that if private sellers were held to the same standards as gun shops when it came to record-keeping and background checks, it would make possible better tracking of owners, which would be a crucial element to solving a homicide such as Darien's. Soschuk stated, quote, You have a weapon that's been used in two homicides in the city of Portland. As safe as the city is,

and as safe as the state is, that falls smack in the middle of the gun show loophole debate, unquote. The so-called loophole debate centers on this. Anyone who has refused the sale of a firearm at a gun shop after a background check can go to a private gun show, pop open Uncle Henry's classified ads, or any other form of private sale avenue and buy a firearm without submitting to a background check. Background checks and other records kept in the sale of firearms would give law enforcement better information when investigating a crime. It would not prevent all private exchange of firearms or stolen guns, but it could minimize the transfer of firearms without records, therefore minimizing dead ends in criminal investigations. To Judy and her husband Wayne,

it's a no-brainer for similar requirements to apply to all methods of firearm sales. Closing this loophole has been one of the focuses of their advocacy following the loss of their daughter. We have a background check system, so I don't know why we have a loophole like that. It doesn't make sense. My husband Wayne, he's a hunter and he's a gun owner. We had guns. The kids grew up with guns.

Darian would shoot with her dad and go on small hunting trips. She lost interest. You know, we thought we knew stuff about guns, but we didn't know that you could sell a gun without doing a background check. In 2021, LD-999 went before the 130th Maine State Legislature. The bill, if enacted, would impose background checks only on gun sales at gun shows and advertise sales such as newspaper classifieds like Uncle Henry's, Craigslist, and others. It differed from a previously rejected referendum from 2016, because it would not require background checks for sales or transfers between friends, families, and loans for hunting and sport purposes or in emergency situations. The bill was also known as Darien's Law. Judy and Wayne Richardson were

the public faces of the proposed legislation. If a law of this nature had been in place in 2010, it's possible that the firearm used to murder Darien never would have landed in the hands of her still unknown killer. Though it's still not known if the gunman could have passed a background check to obtain a firearm from a licensed retailer, it is known that he didn't have to. He bought or otherwise received the gun without one, because it wasn't required. The opponents of this background check requirement

pointed to the fear that the government would overstep. David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, told NewsCenter Maine, quote, that the government would know exactly how many firearms you own, where you live, and all that. Unquote. Supporters, including the bill's sponsor, Representative Talbot Ross, maintained that the bill did not overstep. Quote, It does not compromise our state's proud sporting heritage.

It is, in fact, an incredibly small price to pay to save lives. Unquote. 82% of Maine's registered voters were in support of Darien's law. However, LD-999 did not become law. Darien's law lost in the House. 67-77. It can happen to anybody. So we've been working on this issue for 10 years,

and I've never met anyone that said they knew it would happen to them. Everyone we know from the big mass shootings that are well publicized to people like us that were shot in a single incident, no one ever says, yeah, we knew it was going to happen. Everyone thinks it won't happen to them everywhere. But it does. Gun violence can happen anywhere and everywhere. Gun violence is happening here in Maine, and the numbers have increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Portland Police Department issued a news release on July 29, 2021, concerning ongoing investigations into multiple incidents of shots fired across the city. The release says, quote, Duty told me that there's a toll to gun violence and shootings that's not always recognized or understood until you walk through it yourself.

There's death and loss, absolutely. For survivors, there's trauma, recovery, lifelong complications. That's the reason why they've used their voice to advocate for others. It's not just people that die from gun violence. It's like, and we learned that too, like Darian was going to be living with lifelong issues. She was going to have psychological issues for years. She was maybe going to lose that thumb. That was going to affect her work, her leg. You know, she was going to have lifelong physical issues.

We know people that live with bullets and they move. As you age, you have to have further surgeries. You just, you can't put a timeline and a figure on that. And people forget that. People read, oh, there was a shooting and, you know, they survived non-life threatening. That, anytime you shot with a gun, it could be life threatening.reatening. They can't say that. We have to do better. Darian's killer is still out there. We already lost the most important thing, and now you have to have this hanging over your head, and you worry for a long time.

You worry about your other children. Am I worried about my daughter who looks like her sister? I worry because you don't know, right? You don't know. We don't know the total story, really. Darian Richardson's homicide is still an unsolved case with the Portland Police Department. Now, it seems the case depends on certain individuals speaking up about what they

know to connect the final pieces of this puzzle. We don't know if the guy knew and he's withholding that, but he can legally say that, right? He legally did nothing wrong. But when you find out a gun you sold was used in two murders, are you going to tell? Are you going to help? Are you going to feel, be fearful? I don't know. Maybe he truly doesn't know, but maybe he does. And that's just wrong. So it's still at a standstill on the investigation. And it's all new police now. Most of the people that were originally involved on her case have gone from the department.

You know, I do a lot of calling and emailing, keeping it out there. They asked us to put up a reward, and we did, and we don't have money, and we put up a reward, and then they asked us to increase it, and we did. But then where is that? Do they it do they do they use it do they you know i i don't know i just i don't think it was investigated all that seriously at first and they really just need to re-look at everything

and just start over. You know, they have a gun, they have stuff, I would imagine. I don't know. I've asked for the file. I've asked to see everything. I've still yet to see it, so I'll keep asking.

The Richardsons continue their mission and advocacy in honor of Darian. Whatever forward motion they can inspire for safer, more responsible gun laws, whoever they can touch with her story, whenever they can support those who have experienced violent crime and loss, they do it. They have found meaning and purpose in that work. Judy and Wayne created Remembering Darian to help innocent victims of violent crimes heal and rebuild their lives in the aftermath of incomprehensible violence. The non-profit organization is committed to advocating for victims and their families, as well as providing emotional support and resources required to help those affected

by violent crimes find justice and peace in their healing journey. One of the reasons we started her foundation was because she was saying that like she had she lost everything in one night she couldn't work she luckily worked for Aetna she had a good insurance but she's like mom what do people do like she can't go back to her apartment her roommates couldn't go everyone that disrupted everybody that disrupted three people she had to come home live with us which us, which what if this happened to someone who doesn't have family or have room or have, you know, the means to support? People don't even, they discount the financial costs

of things like gun violence and other violence. Everything is taken from you. You have to, you know, you start over. Everything was taken. Education was an important part of Darian's life, and so they honor her legacy with scholarships in Darian's name each year. We also do a scholarship. We've done a scholarship every year, so we're pretty proud of that one too, because we've given so much money to kids. Education was really important to her and she really wanted to be a teacher and she herself got a lot of scholarships. You know,

she went to a very expensive school. We couldn't afford it but she was and I remember watching her write those notes. I didn't have to tell her any of that. She would write thank you notes to the people and I thought it would, that was the first thing we did was put up a scholarship. We're proud of her all the time. We're always proud of her. I was proud of her, that whole thing about how she navigated her education. I was proud of her, just always. We were really proud of her after the shooting and how she tried to work through it. We were always proud of her. Wherever you are right now, in your car, on your way to work,

getting your steps in on the treadmill, churning through household chores while Darian's story plays in the background, I want you to pause and consider this. We cannot take lightly the trauma that can resurface when a family chooses to share the story of the loved ones they lost. When you listen to Darian Richardson's story, when you listen to any story on Dark Down East, I hope you are moved to take action,

even tiny action, to support the families at the heart of each case. People need to know the emotional side. And when we started doing it, we didn't even realize it. It was more like we were connecting. When Darian first was shot, all we wanted to do was talk to someone else who experienced it. And it is different. It it's different than I mean child loss is the worst thing a parent can go through but it is different if it's violent or if it's you know by another person and it helps to talk to other people but it is emotional

you take on everybody's story and you know what it's like and people have to you really have to that's how that's what empathy is you know we don't want sympathy I don't I said I don't talk or post about things because I want people to have sympathy for me it's not it at all I want people to know what it's like and that others know and if you're going through it someone else knows what it's like I didn't have that when it happened. You know, I didn't know anybody here that had that happen. And that's an important thing to talk with someone that understands really. Share Darian Richardson's reward flyer on social media. Seek out your own learning on the background check loophole and the issues central to this case and others. It's the least we can do for Judy,

for the Richardson family, and the surviving loved ones of victims of violent crimes. Oh, she was, you know, she was a happy person. She was always happy. She was the kind of person that, that's just her demeanor. She was happy. She didn't, you know, she lived in the moment. Could be even reading a book at Darien Daring Oaks one afternoon, which is something she would do sometimes. Oh, today I'm going to go and read a book and sit in the sun. Just little things.

The family and friends of Darian Richardson are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for her death. Anyone with information regarding Darian Richardson's murder is asked to contact the Detective Division of the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8479 or at portland-police.com. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. Source material for this episode is listed at darkdowneast.com.

Judy, thank you for sharing your memories and stories of Darian with me. Be sure to follow Dark Down East on Apple Podcasts and turn on automatic downloads in the top right corner of the app so you never miss an episode. If you listen on another app app like Spotify, same thing, be sure to hit follow. That's the easiest way to support this show and the cases I cover. For photos and more information, visit darkdowneast.com

and follow along on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you for supporting this show and allowing me to do what I do. I'm honored to use this platform for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones, and for those who are still searching for answers in cold missing persons and murder cases. I am not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East.