Central Islip Mom Begs Public For Help In Son's Unsolved Murder

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Central Islip mother was in tears on Tuesday as she begged the Long Island community and Suffolk County Police to find answers in her son's unsolved murder, during a police news conference addressing unsolved cases in Suffolk County.

Theresa Sexton, the mother of Terry Long who was shot and killed in 2022, stood near a photo of him as she hugged his two 7-year-old sons Kyrie and Zashau.

As Patch reported, Long, 32, was shot on the morning of April 29, 2022, as he left his Ronkonkoma home to take Kyrie to school. He was shot multiple times by "unknown individuals" driving by and was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital.

"I ask the public to please, if anybody knows anything, please say something. My grandkids are suffering really bad because their dad is not here with them anymore," Sexton said through her tears to the crowd. "And I'm begging to please if you know something, say something."

Police are offering a $5,000 reward information leading to an arrest in any of the five other unsolved cases addressed at the news conference.

According to a report from Newsday, three are violent crimes and police are searching for the driver in a 2023 hit-and-run in Huntington that killed Bernarda Fernandez, Josue Zepeda Padilla who was charged for participating in gang assault in Huntington and kidnapping a 15-year-old girl, and Jabell Diaz-Mena, who police said fired shots at an occupied vehicle during a road rage incident, the outlet said.

Anyone with information about them may call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.

Read more from Newsday here.