Press Releases
01/31/2023
Joint Investigation Leads to Arrest in 2010 Cold Case Murder in Hartford
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) – Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin announced today that a joint investigation by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, the Hartford Police Department and the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office has resulted in the arrest of a Hartford man charged with the December 1, 2010 kidnapping and fatal shooting in Hartford of Waqas “Victor” Rehman, age 42, of Farmington.
Shawn Milner, age 32, is charged with kidnapping the victim from the store he owned, The Smoker’s Stop on Barbour Street in Hartford, and fatally shooting him. Court records show a witness reported hearing the victim engaged in an altercation with someone who demanded money from the victim and for him to get into a car. Later while responding to a call of shots fired in the area, Hartford police officers found the victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital and later died.
The suspect was identified through DNA testing. In 2022, a report was generated by the DNA Database Unit which indicated that the DNA profile of a buccal swab from Milner could not be eliminated from a live round recovered at the crime scene where police found the wounded victim, according to court records.
Milner faces charges of Felony Murder, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54c, Murder, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a and Kidnapping in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-92. He is being held on a $2 million bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on February 14, 2023.
At this time, the charges against the suspect are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney John F. Fahey, head of the Cold Case Unit, is grateful to investigators in the Cold Case Unit, the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office and the Hartford Police Department for their continued commitment to this investigation.
“Investigators worked hard to make an arrest in this case,” Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Fahey said. “Mr. Rehman senselessly lost his life 12 years ago and detectives assigned to this case never forgot him and the family and friends who still mourn his death.”
The Cold Case Unit is comprised of prosecutors and investigators from the Division of Criminal Justice who work closely on cold cases with the Connecticut State Police and municipal police departments. The Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney currently includes Inspectors from the Division of Criminal Justice as well as investigators from the Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
“Due to the continued efforts of the Hartford Police Department, the Cold Case Unit and the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office, another cold case murder has been solved and closure has been brought to another family,” Hartford police Lt. Aaron Boisvert, head of the Major Crimes Unit, said. “This arrest is a reminder that cold case homicide investigations are never closed. Until they are solved, they are always open and constantly being investigated by the dedicated detectives assigned to these cases.”
For more information about the Cold Case Unit, visit the Division of Criminal Justice’s website or the Unit’s Facebook page.