On Sunday afternoon, February 24, 2008, 21-year-old Shawn Vargas and his 23-year-old brother Kevin Vargas were found shot to death inside Kevin’s apartment on Somerset Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. Police responded around 2:00 p.m. after reports of gunshots; Kevin’s two young sons, ages two and four, were in the apartment and were unharmed but had witnessed the killings.

Investigators say the attack appeared to be a targeted robbery connected to a drug deal that turned violent. Shawn’s daughter was born a few months after his death and never met him. Indictments in the case came in 2016 when Keith Cox and Matthew Lander were charged in connection with the killings; in May 2021 Cox pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery while Lander was later acquitted of murder.

The family has long sought answers and accountability. If anyone knew Shawn or Kevin, saw activity around Somerset Avenue on February 24, 2008, or has information about the robbery that led to their deaths, please come forward.