Who Killed Lonnie Lard Anthony? New Details On The Unsolved Murder Of The Buffalo Man Who Was Shot Dead In His Car
Lonnie Lard Anthony's murder remains unsolved.
WIVB-TV On April 15, 2017, Lonnie Lard Anthony was shot and killed while he was sitting in his car. Now, more than 2 years later, his family is putting pressure on law enforcement to get the case solved. Who killed Lonnie Lard Anthony?
There are few things more distressing to a family than a murder that remains unsolved. For the Anthony family, however, Lonnie Lard Anthony’s unsolved murder is particularly distressing, because the police don’t seem to have any leads or anything else that would help their investigation.
And that’s why they’re turning to the public for help.
Here are just a few of the many things we know about the unsolved murder of Lonnie Lard Anthony.
1. He was shot dead in his car.
According to WKBW TV, Lonnie Lard Anthony was sitting in his car on April 15, 2017, on Dodge Street in Buffalo, NY, when he was shot and killed. Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene. Police, at the time, said that they have no leads or suspects in connection to his murder.
2. His family can’t understand how he got killed.
Josephine Anthony, who is Lonnie Lard Anthony’s mother, recently sat down with WGRZ TV — the local NBC station — to discuss her son’s murder. She said that she “couldn’t understand” how her son got murdered, especially since he wasn’t the type to get mixed up in some violent mess.
"I get a phone call from my daughter and she said mom one of the girls that I work with just called me and said I want to be the first to offer you my condolences on the death of your brother cause he is over on Dodge in his car dead," she said to the outlet. "That's when I found out."
Josephine Anthony also said that she wants to know who murdered her son, and why, and promised that she wouldn’t give up on finding out the answers “as long as I live.”
Lonnie Lard Anthony's murder remains unsolved.
3. A private donor upped the reward to more than $15,000.
According to WIVB TV, offering a reward to beseech the public to assist in a homicide investigation is nothing new. However, the initial reward offered in the Lonnie Lard Anthony unsolved murder was $1,500, which was offered by the Buffalo Police Department.
But according to the outlet, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, $12,500 was added to the reward pot. When added to the Buffalo Police Department’s reward, and the $1,000 reward offered by CrimeStoppers, that brings the reward up to $15,000 for anyone who has any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Lonnie Lard Anthony’s murder.
4. The Buffalo Police Department says the investigation is currently “ongoing.”
According to a different report for WGRZ TV, Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen said that the large reward pot is indicative of the constituency looking to take their community back. Additionally, Pridgen made clear that the case is not a “closed” or “cold” case, but is an ongoing investigation.
"When you talk about somebody putting up over $10,000, to find the killer of a loved one, I think it shows a shift in the community in a positive direction," Pridgen said to the outlet. "I also think when people make the decision to take someone's life, hopefully, it'll make them think twice that this is not the right community to do it in because people are starting to come together."
Anyone with any information about the unsolved murder of Lonnie Lard Anthony is invited to call the Buffalo Police Department.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.