In early February of 1997, a man would be randomly shot on the side of a highway in New York State, and though he was able to describe his killer to police before he died, the case remains unsolved.
It was around six p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, February 5th, and forty-seven-year-old Richard Aderson—a husband and father who worked as the assistant superintendent of the Valley Central School District in Orange County, New York—was driving his 1995 gray Volvo sedan home along Interstate 84.
At some point, he apparently became involved in a minor fender-bender, and both he and the other driver pulled over to the shoulder of the highway about a fifth of a mile from exit twelve in Fishkill. Passing motorists later reported seeing the two men arguing, but evidently none of them saw what happened next.
The man in the other vehicle pulled out a gun and shot Richard Aderson square in the chest, then jumped into his own car and sped off eastbound on Interstate 84. Richard was able to make his way back to his own vehicle and call 911 on his cell phone.
Richard described the man who had shot him as a white male in his late forties to early fifties, standing around six feet tall with a very thin build and a generally slovenly appearance. The man had a receding hairline, a scruffy beard, and wore large, aviator-style eyeglasses. Richard also reported that the man had been driving a green Jeep Cherokee, model year 1995 to 1997, with possibly New Hampshire plates.
Though police arrived at the scene quickly, Richard Aderson succumbed to his injuries before he could be transported to the hospital. A sketch of the perpetrator was immediately produced and released to the public, resulting in thousands of leads, but unfortunately none of them were to pan out. Repeated pleas to the public also yielded no significant information; though several witnesses admitted to seeing the argument between Richard Aderson and his killer, no one would cop to seeing either the original accident or the actual shooting.
In later years, rumors began to swirl that the murderer may have been a corrupt police officer from New Hampshire, but so far these stories have not been substantiated. If the shooter is still alive at this writing in 2023, he would be in his sixties or seventies. Law enforcement is still hoping that the case can one day be put to bed at last.
Crime Immemorial 