Mother of homicide victim pleads for clues in solving son's case
Theresa Sexton gasped as she entered the Suffolk County Police Department's media room in Yaphank Tuesday, coming face-to-face with an image of her murdered son.
The photo displayed on the monitor showed Terry Long, who was shot and killed nearly two years ago, hugging his two sons, Kyrie and Zashaun, now both 7 years old.
Kyrie, standing next to his grandmother and overcome with emotion, stood facing a wall with his head buried in his hands, refusing to look back at the photo of his family in far happier times.
“Next week will be two years since he's been gone,” Sexton, of Central Islip, said during a news conference highlighting six unsolved cases in Suffolk, including her son's killing. “And I'm begging you, please, if you know something, say something. Not for me, but for Kyrie and Zashaun, because it's not fair to them that they do not have their father here anymore.”
On the morning of April 29, 2022, Long, 32, left his home on Wildwood Road in Ronkonkoma to warm up his car to take Kyrie to school. He returned briefly to the house and, as he exited the home a second time, was shot multiple times by unknown individuals passing in a four-door sedan, police said.
Long, who police believe was the intended target of the drive-by shooting, was taken by ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, Suffolk police released crime scene photos of a gray BMW fleeing the scene at the time of the shooting.
“Victim's families … never forget,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina. “And you saw the reaction [when Sexton and Kyrie entered the room]. You see the reaction on their faces now. It's horrible and us in law enforcement, we don't forget either. And we are committed to solving this case.”
While authorities were able to ascertain a few numbers of the BMW's license plate, they were unable to get all the digits and are unsure what state the car was registered in, said Suffolk police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer.
“The license plate is a dead end,” he said.
Sexton, holding back tears, urged the public to provide help in solving her son's murder.
“They need answers,” she said of her grandsons. “They need closure. They're hurting real bad because their dad was taken away from them.”
Kyrie, who recalled details of the shooting, said he was feeling “sad, bad and angry” and wants “someone to step up and find the person” who shot his father.
As part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Suffolk police highlighted five other cases that are still open.
They include a 2023 hit-and-run crash in Huntington Station that killed Bernarda Fernandez, who was struck by a Jeep Cherokee while walking across Jericho Turnpike. The motorist drove off, heading north on Oakwood Road, police said.
Police are also attempting to locate Josue Zepeda Padilla, who was indicted on a charge of participating in a violent gang assault in Huntington and kidnapping a 15-year-old girl. They're also looking for Jabell Diaz-Mena, who police said fired shots at an occupied vehicle during a road rage incident, Catalina said.
Detectives are also seeking the public's assistance in identifying the man who used a fake ID at a UPS service center to pick up a package containing roughly $91,000 worth of silver bars, and the man who damaged a Virgin Mary statue in Nesconset in 2022.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in any of the six cases. Anyone with information about the crimes is urged to call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
