Mom of teen slain in Hartford seeks justice

While police continue to investigate Jan. 11 shooting, she describes her life as being in ‘complete shambles’

Lindsay Modeen has spent the last six months wondering if the person responsible for her having to bury her son at age 18 would be brought to justice.

“I just know I don’t want it to be another cold case in Hartford,” said Modeen, whose son, Julius Rivera, was gunned down on Broad Street on Jan. 11. “I’m not going to stop until I get justice.”

Since joining a list of parents who lost a child to gun violence in Hartford, Modeen has described her life as a “complete disaster.”

“I feel like my life is in shambles — complete shambles,” she said.

“It’s hard to work. It’s hard to sleep. It’s hard to eat. It’s hard to do anything.”

Rivera would have turned 19 in June. Instead of planning a birthday party for him or helping him realize his dream of starting his own business, Modeen has been busy finding an attorney who could represent her family and help make sure her son’s killer is held accountable.

On top of the pain and grief any mother who has lost a child would feel, Modeen said she is also extremely frustrated. Rivera’s death was the first homicide in Hartford in 2023.

The person who took her son away from her prematurely should be behind bars, she said, but instead, the only person arrested in connection with the case is suspected to have been in the getaway car used by the gunman and has been charged with second-degree hindering prosecution for allegedly not cooperating with investigators, according to the arrest warrant affidavit for 29-year-old Sahaira Delucca.

Delucca is free on a $150,000 bond; a plea has not been entered in the case and she is due back in court on Aug. 21, state judicial records show.

Each time Delucca appears in court, Modeen and about a dozen or more family and friends attend the proceedings wearing “Justice for Julius” shirts. Rivera’s

“I just know I don’t want it to be another cold case in Hartford. I’m not going to stop until I get justice.” — Lindsay Modeen, whose son, Julius Rivera, above, was gunned down on Broad Street on Jan. 11

mother has to watch helplessly during each hearing as perhaps the only person who could identify the gunman stays silent. “It’s frustrating,” she said. “Before I didn’t care, but now I want her to get something because it’s been so long of her not (allegedly) cooperating,” Modeen said of any potential jail sentence in connection with the hindering case.

The Hartford Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions continues to investigate the shooting, police confirmed.

In addition to losing Rivera, Modeen now finds herself spending less time with her younger son, working more than 50 hours a week to help cover the legal fees for an attorney who could monitor Delucca’s case and keep tabs on the murder investigation.

The family has started a

Gofundme to assist with the attorney fees. Hartford detectives have been very good about keeping Modeen in the loop, she said. But juggling all the legal aspects while working long hours and still having to look after her family has proven too much.

“Emotionally it’s just too much,” Modeen said.

Rivera left behind a younger brother, who his mother said he “loved more than anything,” and two sisters. His obituary noted “he had a love to shop for clothes and sneaker fetish beyond no control. He sure knew his way around the kitchen and loved to cook,” and be at the ocean.

Rivera was gunned down outside a convenience store he had been in, in the area of 695 Broad St., not far from his vehicle, by a male wearing a hooded sweatshirt who approached and fired several rounds at him, according to the warrant affidavit in Delucca’s arrest.

“Julius was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Modeen said. “He wasn’t selling drugs or anything.”

The teen was described by his mother as quiet and someone who “kept to himself unless he knew you.” He loved the beach, driving around with friends and family gatherings.

“I want people to know gun violence is just horrible,” Modeen said. “I just want justice for my son. Something needs to be done.

“No parent should ever have to bury their child.”