Many looking for answers after Mattapan murders

BOSTON -- The search is on for the person or persons responsible for murdering four people early Tuesday morning in Mattapan.

One day after that massacre in Mattapan that left those four people dead, including a 2-year-old and another victim clinging to life in the hospital, police executed a search warrant at 23 Sutton Street, where one of the victim’s, Simba Martin, lived. Three of the four victims were at Martin’s house about an hour before the murders took place.

“It’s a very active scene. We have a significant number of investigators that are working in various parts of the city today,” said Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

Martin’s girlfriend, Eyanna Flonory, and her 2-year-old, Amani Smith, were also shot to death on the street.

“All she did was take care of Armani and go to school. She wanted to be a cop,” said Ebony Flonory, Eyanna’s sister.

Adding flowers to a growing makeshift memorial, a grieving mother is looking for answers after her 22-year-old son, Levaughn Washum-Garrison, was one of the victims.

“Nobody wants to bury a son. Nobody at such an early age anyways. Yeah, it was shocking,” said Patricia Washum-Bennet, the mother of one of the victims.

Both Martin and Washum-Garrison were found naked in the street after the murders, which is something that often happens in drug incidences or robberies.

“You shouldn’t draw any conclusions from that. I’m not saying that’s what happened here. We have a lot of work to do, but there has been a lot of speculation on that across the city,” said Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

On Wednesday, the mayor and other officials went door to door to speak to residents and listen to what they had to say.

"My job today is to talk to the residents, listen to them to reassure them that the city government is there working for them," said Mayor Menino.

Covered under a blanket of anger and anguish, family and friends of the victims gathered for a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night, following a meeting with community leaders, including Mayor Tom Menino, Police Commissioner Ed Davis, District Attorney Dan Conley, and even Gov. Deval Patrick.

“Nobody understands it. Two years old…I mean, nobody understands it,” said Gov. Patrick.

“Yeah we want justice. We want to know what’s happened...what really happened, because this is ridiculous. It’s just senseless,” said James Bennet, the Washum-Garrison’s stepfather.

Mayor Menino agrees that the crime was senseless, calling the killer or killers “cowards.”

“What we need is the community to be involved in the investigation. Give us the information they know, and through our tip lines, which are anonymous, they’ll help us come to conclusion on this brutal episode,” said Mayor Menino.

According to police, in the last 24 hours they have gotten at least a dozen good tips in the case.

“We really want to close it as quickly as possible, but I would not term this as something that is going to happen in the next few hours,” said Commissioner Davis.

No arrests have been made in connection with the case.

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