Jermaine Williams, a 23-year-old Black man from Vernon, Connecticut, was found dead around 3:30 a.m. on January 8, 2019, on the westbound Exit 4 off-ramp of Route 2 in East Hartford. A state Department of Transportation worker discovered his body partially in the roadway; paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Connecticut State Police immediately treated the death as a homicide. The Medical Examiner determined Williams died of gunshot wounds to his head and torso.

Officers from the State Police Central District Major Crimes Squad closed the off-ramp for hours while they processed the scene. In the days after his death it emerged that Williams had recently completed a 25-month sentence for a 2016 weapons conviction after Vernon police found a loaded pellet gun during a traffic stop. The investigation has been described as active but has grown cold, and there has been no public announcement of suspects or arrests.

Anyone who has information about what happened that night or who saw activity on the Exit 4 off-ramp around 3:30 a.m. on January 8, 2019, is asked to contact investigators.