Chanel Petro-Nixon was born on August 4, 1989 and lived in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, with her father Anthony Garvin, her mother Lucita Nixon, and her brothers Marcus and Giovanni.
She was also an 11th grader at Boys and Girls High School, and was known as a straight-A student who spent her after-school hours in the library.
[citation needed] On Sunday, June 18, 2006, Petro-Nixon left her family's home, telling them she was walking to the Applebee's restaurant near New York Avenue and Fulton Street, to meet a friend.
[2] Following his daughter's murder, Anthony Garvin was quoted as saying: "I don't trust anybody [...] That person shaking your hand, smiling in your face, could be the one who did this.
An article in the New York Daily News focused on Petro-Nixon's white sneakers, with the hope that someone would have recognized her shoes.
[9] Cops hope a photo of 16-year-old Chanel Petro-Nixon's white and pink retro jordan sneakers will jog a witness' memory and help investigators track down the Brooklyn girl's killer.
"[10] In June 2016, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced that former Crown Heights resident Veron Primus had been formally charged with Petro-Nixon's murder.
Some years after Petro-Nixon's murder, Primus had also served time in prison for violating a restraining order and was deported to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, following his release.
[14] New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis, who tried to keep the story 'alive' in the press,[15] reported that there was an upward spike in murder in Crown Heights by 122%, and that community meetings were being held by Assemblyman Karim Camara.
[17] In January 2007, CNN aired a video featuring Nancy Grace discussing unsolved murders, including Petro-Nixon's.